Hello again from the How To Vote In Every
State team.
At the beginning of the year we wrote and
recorded 53 videos explaining the rules and
deadlines for voting in each state,
as well as DC, unincorporated territories,
and the special rules for military and overseas voters.
Of course, we are now many months into a pandemic,
and that has had some consequences for the
upcoming elections.
Many states have changed their rules around
voting by mail or voting absentee, so we wanted
to check back in with you and talk about those
changes if that’s the route you want to take.
First things first: your state may refer to
this as voting by mail or voting absentee,
but it’s basically the same thing.
It’s just a way for you to receive your
ballot in the mail, ahead of time,
so that you can fill it out at your own pace and
then mail it back so that it arrives at your board of
elections office in time to be counted.
This way you avoid election day lines and,
importantly in 2020, can stay safely distanced
while still having your vote counted.
If you’re planning to vote by mail, make
sure you know your state’s deadlines.
Some states differentiate between whether
ballot requests and ballots need to be received by
a certain date or postmarked by a certain date –
meaning that in some states the deadlines
are based on the day that your ballot arrives
at your board of elections office and in others
it’s based on the day you take it to the post office.
Also, many states have secure ballot drop
boxes, so you can skip the post office altogether.
It’s important to note that there will be
an unusually large influx of mail-in ballots
this year.
And even without that influx, the mail is
not instantaneous, so you have to allow time
for all the mail stuff to happen.
The sooner you request your ballot – and
once you get it, the sooner you fill it out
and return it – the better.
If you haven’t requested your ballot yet – or made
sure it’s coming to the right address – consider this
video a sign that you should go do that right now.
Like right now, pause this video, open a new
tab.
I’ll be here waiting when you’re done.
Prior to this year, many states had fairly
specific rules around who was eligible to
vote absentee.
However, at the time of this recording, many
states have announced some sort of expansion
to this process in light of the pandemic.
And in some cases changes are still happening.
Check the video description for your state’s
video for the most up-to-date information on changes
to the voting process in your state.
Several states had already planned to conduct
the entire election by mail, pre-pandemic.
If you’re in one of those states, you’re
good to go.
Take this opportunity to double check that
you’re registered at the right address,
maybe start researching candidates, but the
process has not changed.
But a few more states are now also planning
to conduct the 2020 election by mail – meaning
that all registered voters should receive
their ballot in the mail without requesting it.
You just need to make sure you’re registered
and then you’ll get your ballot in the mail
automatically.
Again: check the video description for your
state’s video to see if this is you.
Many states already had or have since added
no-excuse absentee ballot requests – meaning
that they hold IRL elections, but anybody
could request to vote by mail without needing
a reason.
No excuse meaning -- you don’t need an excuse;
you just need to request it.
Some states have even decided to mail absentee
request forms to all registered voters in 2020,
but if you haven’t received or submitted
that form yet, make sure you request your
absentee ballot as soon as possible.
Several states that require a reason to vote
absentee have expanded those reasons to include
the pandemic,
so there will be a box to check citing COVID
concerns on your mail ballot request form.
Additionally, some states have expanded absentee
voting without updating their forms.
So when you go to fill out your request for
a mail ballot you won’t see a COVID option,
but voters concerned about the pandemic can
check the box for “illness” as their reason
for requesting a mail ballot.
Most states also have some sort of online
system for checking the status of your ballot
so that you can know when it gets received
and counted.
It’s like package tracking but for democracy.
One other option for avoiding the lines on
election day and still making sure your vote
gets counted is voting early in person.
Not every state has this option, but many
states that offer this have extended the days
and hours for early voting in 2020.
So, one last time: check the description for
your state’s video to see if this is an
option for you.
Aside from checking the video description,
the best way to make sure you have the most
up to date official information is to check
your state’s board of elections website.
All of that information will be linked below
so that you can make sure you’re registered,
check your address, find your early voting
center, or request your mail ballot.
Or even figure out who to contact if you have
any questions.
Thank you for being a voter.
How To Vote in Every State is produced by Complexly in partnership with The MediaWise Voter Project, which is led by The Poynter Institute and supported by Facebook
