What is an absentee ballot and how is it different to a mail-in ballot?

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Ellena Cruse18 August 2020

Due to the pandemic and a surge in coronavirus cases, more Americans than ever before will be allowed to vote in the upcoming US elections on November 3, via the post.

Some states are changing electoral rules to help stop the spread of Covid-19 which could be exacerbated through physical ballot casting.

Voting through the post can be done by "absentee ballot" or a "mail-in ballot", however, there is lots of confusion about the methods which vary between different states.

Furthermore, some people have been using the terms interchangeably, mistakenly thinking they are the same thing.

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What is an absentee ballot?

Before mail votes are explained you need to know that usually, the majority of US voters attend a polling station to physically select a candidate either through crossing a box or tapping an electronic voting machine.

An absent ballot is, therefore, someone till taking part in the voting process without attending a polling station on election day.

Every state allows this type of voting in some form, with federal law requiring that ballots are sent to overseas and military personal.

Citizens simply need to request a form from their state government and wait for a decision.

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In 16 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia) an absentee ballot is the only form of voting through the mail that is allowed.

The voter has to also provide a reason as to why they cannot vote in person. Accepted reasons include illness, disability, being a student outside of the state or being out of the country.

There is also a term called no-excuse absentee ballot when voters to not have to give a reason to request one.

This is applicable in 29 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming).

However, some people refer to this whole grouping as an absentee ballot.

What is a mail-in-ballot?

Some states already conduct elections through a mail-in process that’s often referred to as all-mail voting.

Registered voters in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and Hawaii automatically receive a mail ballot, which is sent to their address before Election Day.

Recipients mail their selection back or deposit it at a voting location.

In these states, the term absentee ballot can apply to a voter who is not at their home address when it is sent out.

Misinformation about voting by mail

Donald Trump has moved to sow public distrust in the US Postal Service’s ability to deliver what is expected to be record numbers of mailed votes this year, claiming that postal voting would lead to massive voter fraud in the election.

However US voting fraud is extremely rare and data from the Heritage Foundation shows that in the past 20 years out of 250,000,000 votes have been cast by post, there have only been 1,285 proven cases of illegal breeches.