Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans are using mail ballots in record numbers this year. Fortunately, the use of mail ballots is not a newfangled idea; it was already deeply embedded in the American electoral system before the coronavirus hit.
Mail balloting originated as a mechanism to allow military voters to participate in our elections.footnote1_FDFetwGlDQ50Ed29QQ-FWtnXVsp4PtpsNmLy8xbEDNA_kaNFduRmFeij1In this report, “mail balloting” refers to any system that uses a “mail ballot” for voting, regardless of the need for a request to use a mail ballot, the pool of eligible voters, or how the mail ballot may be returned. During the Civil War, its adoption allowed 150,000 Union soldiers to vote “absentee” from the battlefield.footnote2_h9lPxnjLkh6bKyTMFJPvQ7Y8G-r7b6–01v7iV6zOksQ_oZdIDoIAcdla2Alex Seitz-Wald, “How Do You Know Voting by Mail Works? The U.S. Military’s Done It Since the Civil War.,” NBC News, April 19, 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/how-do-you-know-voting-mail-works-u-s-military-n1186926. By World War II, all states allowed soldiers to use mail ballots.footnote3_mSZ3PdwCGNYorYo4m5du8X1XhXF0u6XbuXOhd-Thk_qiTsC8gBVCm83Alex Seitz-Wald, “How Do You Know Voting by Mail Works?” NBC News, April 19, 2020. Today, all overseas voters can request mail ballots on a permanent basis, without having to make additional requests for each election. Military and overseas voters can even cast a backup mail ballot — the federal write-in absentee ballot — if the original ballot does not arrive in time.footnote4_bmS0ovxvSyIlQVQPRX3q2XIzTqd1noiOg3DTKjEFoA_fWCtyPho3yNJ4“Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot Instructions and Information,” Federal Voting Assistance Program, last accessed October 8, 2020, https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Forms/fwab2013.pdf; “Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot,” Overseas Vote Foundation, last accessed October 8, 2020, https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/vote/FwabStart.htm.
In the 21st century, mail ballots have become increasingly prominent in American elections. Since the 2010 federal elections, roughly one out of every four ballots cast have been mail ballots, and a growing number of voters have chosen to vote by mail.footnote5_LoqMdrvNNF0qOhd9s7t6fHRwc783cueHPrXDMvTAovo_yKXOhfgJE4eX5U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Election Administration and Voting Survey: 2018 Comprehensive Report, June 2019, https://eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/6/2018_EAVS_Report.pdf; For elections from 2010 through 2016, percent was calculated by adding the percent of absentee ballots and the percent of vote by mail ballots. “More People Voting Early, Using Mail and Absentee Ballots, Percent Voting Absentee, By Mail, or Early, 2004–16,” Chart, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, October 17, 2017, https://www.eac.gov/documents/2017/10/17/eavs-deep-dive-early-absentee-and-mail-voting-data-statutory-overview. Since 2000, more than 250 million votes have been cast via mailed-out ballots in all 50 states.footnote6_Uj0-BULGbyb3pmiUvxQlJKedu12PfZuo-iZ07ohSqw4_bqZ3qNr6hVtN6David Roberts, “The Simple Voting Reform that Works Wherever It’s Tried,” Vox, last updated May 24, 2018, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/23/17383400/vote-by-mail-home-california-alaska-nebraska.
Mail balloting practices vary by state with regard to voter eligibility, ballot return processes, and whether a mail ballot must be requested or is automatically sent to voters. For the 2020 election, nine states and the District of Columbia, will use the practice often called “vote at home,” in which active registered voters are automatically sent mail ballots and can choose from a variety of ballot return methods.footnote7_NQsKAjntsawaM3FCaxAGRlkpKhUQHBjMiyVHu5RhHMM_c4Xb45a7vnxo7“About Us,” National Vote at Home Institute, last accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.voteathome.org/about/; The nine states are California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. In addition, counties in Montana have the option to use a “vote at home” system. “Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election,” National Conference of State Legislatures, last updated October 9, 2020, https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-mail-voting-policies-in-effect-for-the-2020-election.aspx; Quinn Scanlan, “Here’s How State Have Changed the Rules Around Voting amid the Coronavirus Pandemic,” ABC News, September 22, 2020, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/states-changed-rules-voting-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/story?id=72309089. Twenty-seven states allow “no excuse absentee voting,” enabling any voter to request a mail ballot for the election.footnote8_32i1Wbs0j9VKZiUsvg0JjL7RipoBTvIOBQyWX7vU4Y_vn15u5VsK3NS8Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. “Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election,” National Conference of State Legislatures, last updated October 9, 2020. In addition, 11 states that generally require voters to have specific excuses to cast a mail ballot will allow voters with Covid-related excuses to vote by mail.footnote9_uaeyz4aFXVJBuTbeEnBOVCfXLefGPW0Cfk6wucMeEVE_yYI2z3oTg7Fn9Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. “Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election,” National Conference of State Legislatures, last updated October 9, 2020; ”COVID-19 Election Information,” Tennessee Secretary of State and Division of Elections, last accessed October 12, 2020, https://sos-tn-gov-files.tnsosfiles.com/COVID-19%20Election%20Information.pdf; See also “Absentee By-Mail Ballot Application for the November 3, 2020 Election,” Tennessee Secretary of State, last accessed October 12, 2020, https://sos-tn-gov-files.tnsosfiles.com/Absentee%20Ballot%20Request%20Form.pdf. Finally, three states require voters to assert one of several delineated “excuses” in order to receive and cast a mail ballot, and those excuses have not been expanded to take into account the coronavirus pandemic.footnote10_cxorQt6ooUvwz8uOCcZnJt6tylb9lEF-95KdYeEprJo_lOr871GvH2eG10Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas. “Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election,” National Conference of State Legislatures, last updated October 9, 2020.
End Notes
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footnote1_FDFetwGlDQ50Ed29QQ-FWtnXVsp4PtpsNmLy8xbEDNA_kaNFduRmFeij
1
In this report, “mail balloting” refers to any system that uses a “mail ballot” for voting, regardless of the need for a request to use a mail ballot, the pool of eligible voters, or how the mail ballot may be returned. -
footnote2_h9lPxnjLkh6bKyTMFJPvQ7Y8G-r7b6–01v7iV6zOksQ_oZdIDoIAcdla
2
Alex Seitz-Wald, “How Do You Know Voting by Mail Works? The U.S. Military’s Done It Since the Civil War.,” NBC News, April 19, 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/how-do-you-know-voting-mail-works-u-s-military-n1186926. -
footnote3_mSZ3PdwCGNYorYo4m5du8X1XhXF0u6XbuXOhd-Thk_qiTsC8gBVCm8
3
Alex Seitz-Wald, “How Do You Know Voting by Mail Works?” NBC News, April 19, 2020. -
footnote4_bmS0ovxvSyIlQVQPRX3q2XIzTqd1noiOg3DTKjEFoA_fWCtyPho3yNJ
4
“Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot Instructions and Information,” Federal Voting Assistance Program, last accessed October 8, 2020, https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Forms/fwab2013.pdf; “Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot,” Overseas Vote Foundation, last accessed October 8, 2020, https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/vote/FwabStart.htm. -
footnote5_LoqMdrvNNF0qOhd9s7t6fHRwc783cueHPrXDMvTAovo_yKXOhfgJE4eX
5
U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Election Administration and Voting Survey: 2018 Comprehensive Report, June 2019, https://eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/6/2018_EAVS_Report.pdf; For elections from 2010 through 2016, percent was calculated by adding the percent of absentee ballots and the percent of vote by mail ballots. “More People Voting Early, Using Mail and Absentee Ballots, Percent Voting Absentee, By Mail, or Early, 2004–16,” Chart, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, October 17, 2017, https://www.eac.gov/documents/2017/10/17/eavs-deep-dive-early-absentee-and-mail-voting-data-statutory-overview. -
footnote6_Uj0-BULGbyb3pmiUvxQlJKedu12PfZuo-iZ07ohSqw4_bqZ3qNr6hVtN
6
David Roberts, “The Simple Voting Reform that Works Wherever It’s Tried,” Vox, last updated May 24, 2018, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/23/17383400/vote-by-mail-home-california-alaska-nebraska. -
footnote7_NQsKAjntsawaM3FCaxAGRlkpKhUQHBjMiyVHu5RhHMM_c4Xb45a7vnxo
7
“About Us,” National Vote at Home Institute, last accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.voteathome.org/about/; The nine states are California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. In addition, counties in Montana have the option to use a “vote at home” system. “Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election,” National Conference of State Legislatures, last updated October 9, 2020, https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-mail-voting-policies-in-effect-for-the-2020-election.aspx; Quinn Scanlan, “Here’s How State Have Changed the Rules Around Voting amid the Coronavirus Pandemic,” ABC News, September 22, 2020, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/states-changed-rules-voting-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/story?id=72309089. -
footnote8_32i1Wbs0j9VKZiUsvg0JjL7RipoBTvIOBQyWX7vU4Y_vn15u5VsK3NS
8
Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. “Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election,” National Conference of State Legislatures, last updated October 9, 2020. -
footnote9_uaeyz4aFXVJBuTbeEnBOVCfXLefGPW0Cfk6wucMeEVE_yYI2z3oTg7Fn
9
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. “Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election,” National Conference of State Legislatures, last updated October 9, 2020; ”COVID-19 Election Information,” Tennessee Secretary of State and Division of Elections, last accessed October 12, 2020, https://sos-tn-gov-files.tnsosfiles.com/COVID-19%20Election%20Information.pdf; See also “Absentee By-Mail Ballot Application for the November 3, 2020 Election,” Tennessee Secretary of State, last accessed October 12, 2020, https://sos-tn-gov-files.tnsosfiles.com/Absentee%20Ballot%20Request%20Form.pdf. -
footnote10_cxorQt6ooUvwz8uOCcZnJt6tylb9lEF-95KdYeEprJo_lOr871GvH2eG
10
Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas. “Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election,” National Conference of State Legislatures, last updated October 9, 2020.