Voting by Mail or Absentee Voting:
A Guide for Older Americans
How to Vote By Mail or Absentee in All 50 States

In recent years, states have made various voting-by-mail options available to citizens who wish to avoid health risks, while also preserving their ability to vote. In some instances, in-person voting health safeguards (such as social distancing or wearing masks) may not be enough to protect at-risk populations like older adults or those with health conditions.

Despite the positive intentions of increased voting options, many questions still remain about which states allow voting by mail, how mail balloting works, the security of mail-in voting, and the difference between absentee balloting and voting by mail.

This guide explains what seniors need to know about voting by mail in their state as well as the steps they might need to take in order to securely vote by mail.

Table of Contents

1. The Three General Types of Voting by Mail
2. Guidelines for Getting Absentee Ballots
3. Absentee Request Deadlines by State
4. A Reminder to Request Your Ballot Early
5. Universal By-Mail States
6. The History of Voting by Mail
7. Additional Resources
8. References and Footnotes

The Three General Types of Voting by Mail

Voting by mail is also called by-mail voting, and there are three basic types:

1. Absentee ballot: You must request an absentee ballot and choose from a list of accepted “excuses” (or reasons) to not vote in person. In some states, being 65 or older is a valid reason on its own, while a few states offer “advanced age” with no age specified. Some states don't allow age by itself to be sufficient to voter absentee, but seniors might qualify under a reason such as illness or disability.
2. No-excuse absentee: You can vote by mail without having to give any reason for your in-person absence. Many states already offer no-excuse absentee ballots.
3. Universal vote by mail (also called “vote at home”): Registered voters in the state can vote by mail for every election (in-person voting may be available, too). Even before the COVID-19 global health crisis, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and Hawaii voted by mail. If you live in one of these states, your ballot is automatically mailed to you.

Guidelines for Getting Absentee Ballots

If you request an absentee ballot, keep two important things in mind:

1. The next election in your state might be a primary, not a presidential election. Review your absentee ballot application to ensure you’re requesting the correct election. You might be able to request both elections at the same time, depending on the state.
2. Follow the deadlines for absentee ballot applications and for the absentee ballots themselves. Check for deadlines and updates with this tool from the U.S. Vote Foundation. The earlier you turn in applications and ballots, the better. Some states had a rough time with the influx of absentee ballots during their primaries in 2020. Not all ballots got mailed or counted.

Absentee Request Deadlines by State

• Look over the entry for your state in the table below. You might qualify to vote absentee even in normal circumstances, depending on your age and state regulations.
• Monitor the coronavirus situation in your state, especially as the election gets closer.
• Keep an eye on state election changes. If officials deem the situation risky enough, they may include COVID-19 concerns as a valid reason to vote absentee.
• Get advice from a medical professional on voting absentee under a category such as “ill” or “disabled.” This may not strictly be necessary. However, it’s helpful if you want peace of mind that you’re following voting rules. All medical professionals should be on board with your attempts to stay healthy. If nothing else, they can advise you on staying safe if you must vote in person.

The table below lists “Yes,” “Probably,” and “Maybe,” answers as to whether seniors can vote by mail.

“Yes” means that ALL seniors who want to vote by mail will be able to.

“Maybe” means it may be up to the discretion of officials in your state.

For example, if you’re 65 or older in Texas, you qualify. Other “Maybe” states don’t let seniors vote absentee just because they’re older, but some loosened their rules in 2020.

The following information is valid as of late 2021. It's possible (likely, even) that regulations in some states could change due to legislation, court decisions, and increased/decreased global health risks.

A Reminder to Request Your Ballot Early

Some states that held primaries during pandemic stay-at-home orders had trouble mailing enough absentee ballots in time. For example, in Wisconsin, more than 9,000 voters never received the absentee ballots they requested.³

Seniors who don't receive absentee ballots in time may feel compelled to vote in person and put their health at risk. Check your state's relevant elections website and request your ballot well in advance of the election.

Universal By-Mail States

If you’re a new resident of Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, or Hawaii, here’s a quick primer on how universal vote-by-mail ballots work.⁴

• In Nebraska and North Dakota, each county may choose if their elections will be held entirely by mail.
• Voters have election periods, not a single election day. They may have two weeks or even longer to make their selections.
• Thanks to this extended voting period, election officials can spread out the counting and processing of ballots. There is more time to catch and fix potential mistakes, especially compared with in-person woes such as long polling lines, malfunctioning voting machines, and absent workers.
• Registered voters receive their ballot in the mail. If they don’t get a ballot, they can contact their county auditor’s office or other relevant election office to request one. In many cases, it’s possible to register to vote on the same day as the election.
• Voters mark their ballot and insert it in a secrecy envelope or sleeve.
• Voters place the ballot and envelope (or sleeve) in a mailing envelope. They sign an affidavit on the outside of the mailing envelope.
• Voters return the mailing envelope via mail, drop it off in person or leave it in a designated drop-off location.
• Election officials use signature verification, among other methods, to ensure the legitimacy of ballots.
• Bipartisan teams can work together to mail, receive, process and count ballots.

The History of Voting by Mail

By-mail voting is steeped in U.S. history, especially military history.⁵

• In the Civil War, about 150,000 (out of 1 million Union troops) voted absentee in the 1864 presidential election. Nearly 80 percent voted for Abraham Lincoln.⁴
• In the 1944 presidential election, members of the military cast about 3.2 million absentee ballots, helping Franklin Delano Roosevelt win his fourth term. Every state had laws allowing soldiers to vote remotely.⁵
• At the beginning of 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic began to seriously affect the United States, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado and Hawaii let registered voters in their state vote entirely by mail.⁶
• In some states, the COVID-19 pandemic led officials to send out mail-in ballots to each of their citizens. This increased voter turnout by an average of 4 percent. In the 2020 election, and during the COVID-19, this turnout resulted in even higher turnout rates for certain states.⁷
• 54% of voters voted in-person for the 2020 presidential election, while 46% voted by absentee or mail-in ballot.⁸

Additional Resources

Election Official Directory & State Voting: Requirements & Information from the U.S. Vote Foundation

Absentee ballot request and submission deadlines from Vote.org
All-Mail Elections: Advantages, Disadvantages and More
State Laws Governing Early Voting: From the National Conference of State Legislatures

References and Footnotes

1. Martin, K. (2020, June 15). You Can Vote by Mail Despite Texas AG’s Warning. The Austin Bulldog. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://theaustinbulldog.org/you-can-vote-by-mail-despite-texas-ags-warning/
2. Anderson, E. (2020, June 12). Texas AG Warns Again: Don’t Mislead About Vote-by-Mail Laws. Texas Scorecard. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://texasscorecard.com/state/texas-ag-warns-again-dont-mislead-about-vote-by-mail-laws/
3. Corasaniti, N., and Saul, S. (2020, April 09). Inside Wisconsin’s Election Mess: Thousands of Missing or Nullified Ballots. The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/politics/wisconsin-election-absentee-coronavirus.html
4. Voting Outside the Polling Place: Absentee, All-Mail and other Voting at Home Options. (2020, June 9). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx
5. Seitz-Wald, A. (2020, April 19). How Do You Know Voting by Mail Works? The U.S. Military's Done It Since the Civil War. NBC News. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/how-do-you-know-voting-mail-works-u-s-military-n1186926
6. https://www.history.com/news/vote-by-mail-soldiers-war
7. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/how-do-you-know-voting-mail-works-u-s-military-n1186926
8. https://www.reuters.com/world/california-becomes-8th-us-state-make-universal-mail-in-ballots-permanent-2021-09-28/
9. https://www.ppic.org/publication/vote-by-mail-and-voter-turnout-in-the-pandemic-election
10. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/11/20/the-voting-experience-in-2020