#bluewave2020

What is an absentee ballot?

Great question! An absentee ballot (voting by mail) is a paper ballot that is sent by USPS to voters prior to an election that voters can mark up and mail back to cast their vote on. Absentee ballots are available in all 50 states, however some states place more restrictions on them than other states. In 28 states (and DC), any voter can apply for a mail in ballot -- voters do not need to provide an excuse to do so in these states. 17 states require voters to provide an excuse to receive an absentee ballot. In 5 states, elections are held through mail in ballots; voters do not need to apply to receive a mail in ballot. Depending on your municipality you can find the application to receive an absentee ballot on your state’s secretary of state website, your county’s board of elections website or your city’s board of elections website. In order to apply for a mail ballot, you must be a registered voter.

Which states have no-excuse absentee voting?

Glad you asked! Personally think it’s terrible that the answer isn’t ALL 50, but uhhh here ya go! I’ve provided links to each state’s official application for mail voting and relevant mail voting laws and information pages -- hope that helps. In many states you can also hand deliver your applications and ballots to the board of elections if you don’t think that they will make it in before the deadlines when posted. CAREFULLY read the instructions and information that your state’s website provides vis a vie your mail in ballot before submitting your application and later your ballot; make sure that your vote is counted! I looked up this information so you don’t have to.

AK

AZ

CA (this year due to COVID-19, Gov. Newsom signed an order that orders the sec state to mail every registered voter in the state an absentee ballot),

DC (due to COVID-19 all DC registered voters are automatically receiving mail in ballots, you only need to apply for a mail ballot if you need it sent to an alternate address such as a college PO box or overseas military base),

FL

GA

HI (as of this year, voters in HI are now all automatically going to receive a mail ballot and subsequent elections will be conducted by mail)

ID (the ID application for vote by mail for the 2020 general elections must be received by 8/7),

IL (if you live in the city of chicago go instead to chicagoelections.gov for your voter information),

IA

KS

ME

MD

MI

MN

MT

NE

NV

NJ

NM

NC

ND

OH

OK

PA, 

RI (technically on the RI application you must provide an excuse for voting by mail, but as “prefer not to go to the polls” is an option the state has defacto no-excuse absentee ballots)

SD (Due to COVID-19 the SD sec state is mailing all currently registered voters an application for vote by mail ballots. you still need to fill this form out and return it to receive an absentee ballot)

VT

VA (new as of 2020!)

WI

WY

Which states provide all voters with mail in ballots?

CO, HI (new as of 2020), OR, UT, WA, DC (new as of 2020)

My state wasn’t on your other two lists :(

my condolences. If you live in one of these states read the rules that I’ve linked you to here VERY CAREFULLY. The states that require an excuse to receive a mail in ballot are:

AL

AK

CT

DE (as of this election in 2020 the state of DE is now allowing ALL registered voters to request and receive a vote by mail ballot -- the state classes absentee and mail ballots differently. It seems to be a temporary measure due to COVID-19 but 🤞 it will become a permanent option for DE residents)

IN (The state legislature and sec state are considering allowing all voters to vote by mail in this election due to COVID-19. however, as of this writing [8/7] IN does not offer any form of no-excuse absentee voting)

KY (The state seems to be allowing ALL voters the option to vote by mail in this year’s elections due to COVID-19, but normally voters must provide an excuse to vote absentee)

MA (ordinarily MA does not allow no-excuse absentee voting, but for 2020 elections this is an option due to COVID-19 precautions)

MS (Registration for absentee ballots is .... suspiciously difficult to find on the sec state website, and it seems they only offer it in the context of overseas military personnel, out of state college students, above 65 or disabled)

NH (For 2020 voters can use fear of COVID-19 as a legitimate excuse for vote by mail applications in NH)

NY (for 2020 elections gov. Cuomo signed an executive order to send all register new york voters absentee ballot applications. voters are allowed to check “temporary illness/disability” for COVID-19 related issues [ie; vulnerable persons])

SC

TN (voters who fall under the “vulnerable persons” category are allowed to check disability/illness as an excuse for absentee votes for the 2020 election)

TX (The TX supreme court ruled that all able bodied voters must vote in person unless they fall under one of the other applicable categories such as overseas military personnel)

WV (The state allows any voter to chose “medical reasons” as an excuse for an absentee ballot wrt COVID-19)

It looks like my state has more than one mail in ballot application option?

Some states differentiate absentee and mail ballots as separate classes, where absentee refers ONLY to ballots cast by voters voting outside of the municipality (ie: overseas military or college students) Your state may also apply your application to vote by mail to all elections in a calendar year. You may also notice that your state has an option for permanent application to vote by mail; in most states this option is intended for persons with disabilities and persons residing in care homes. Make sure that you are applying for the vote by mail option that best fits your situation. Another option that you may see in applying for a vote by mail ballot is a language option. Many states offer ballots printed in Spanish and English. Other languages may also be available depending on your municipality. My county offers ballots in polish, English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Tagalog.

I applied to vote by mail but I’ve decided that I want to vote in person instead! Help!

The rules around this are different in different municipalities, but for most you will need to contact your county/state/city board of elections and inform them that you have changed your mind and wish to vote in person. You may also have to cast a provisional ballot at your polling place.

I’ve heard that the USPS is being slowed by new postmaster general DeJoy (R)

This is true unfortunately. Plan to send your mail in ballot as early as possible or hand deliver it to your municipality’s board of elections building. Some municipalities are also creating mail in ballot secure drop off boxes near local polling stations before the election so that voters can place their ballots there instead of mailing them out -- investigate if your state/municipality is doing this.

I’ve heard that voting by mail increases voting fraud

Pardon my language, but uhhhh that’s some f**king bulls**t. Voting fraud is incredibly rare as it is, and is even rarer with mail-in ballots.

Please check out some of the resources about voting rights that Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight has.

I heard that I could vote online?

No. You cannot vote online. You cannot vote by phone. In United States elections you can only vote at your polling location or by mail.