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Here’s how to check if your mail-in ballot has been received and counted

If your mail-in ballot is cast, but no one is around to count it, did it make a sound? The U.S. presidential election is fast approaching, and people keep telling you this is the most important election in a generation. The coronavirus, of course, means that when it comes to safely casting your vote this election is also one of the most unusual. Thankfully, large swaths of the country (but sadly not all) have a simple way to confirm that their residents’ mail-in ballots have been received and counted. In previous elections, the ability to check on the status of one’s mail-in ballot might have seemed like a neat little democracy bonus feature. This year, with the president spreading misinformation about the vote-by-mail process, and questionable goings on at the United States Postal Service, checking that your vote was received feels more like a requirement. Notably, every state has a different voting process. This is considered a plus by some experts as it makes the entire election process more resistant to fraud, hackers, or various meddling at scale. It also means, for example, that Californians have a different process to check their ballots than New Yorkers. Below you’ll find the links you’ll need to check in on your ballot and track its status assuming your state even allows that in the first place. It should go without saying, but all the information assumes you are both eligible to vote and have registered to do so. Oh yeah, and that you request the ballot before the state-specific deadline. As of the time of this writing, some states will still allow you to request an absentee ballot, but for others the deadline has already passed. To check on the status of your ballot, click the link for the state in which you’re registered. If your state supports it, the link will explain how to check on your ballot. Otherwise, the link will take you to your state’s elections page which will explain how to reach out to local election officials with any questions you may have. There’s also a littler reminder by each state about its particular deadline, because in this country a late ballot decidedly does not make a sound. 

  • Alabama Anyone can vote by mail in Alabama, but you have to request a ballot. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 2. 
  • Alaska Anyone can vote by mail in Alaska, but you have to request a ballot. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Arizona Voters in Arizona were mailed applications, but not automatically mailed ballots. Your ballot must be received by Nov. 3.
  • Arkansas Anyone can vote by mail in Arkansas, but you have to request a ballot. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3. 
  • California Anyone can vote by mail in California. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Colorado Anyone can vote by mail in Colorado. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3. 
  • Connecticut Voters in Connecticut were mailed applications, but not automatically mailed ballots. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3. 
  • Delaware Voters in Delaware were mailed applications, but not automatically mailed ballots. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Florida Anyone can vote by mail in Florida, but you had to request the ballot by Oct. 24.  Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Georgia Anyone can vote by mail in Georgia, but you have to request the ballot by Oct. 30. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Hawaii Voters in Hawaii were automatically mailed ballots. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Idaho Anyone can vote by mail in Idaho, but you had to request the ballot by Oct. 23. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Illinois Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • IndianaNot everyone can vote by mail in Indiana. If you can, your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Iowa Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 2.
  • Kansas You have to request a ballot by Oct. 27 to vote by mail in Kansas. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Kentucky You had to request a ballot to vote by mail in Kentucky. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • LouisianaNot everyone can vote by mail in Louisiana and the deadline to apply is Oct. 30. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 2.
  • Maine You have to request a ballot to vote by mail in Maine by Oct. 29. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Maryland Voters in Maryland were mailed applications. If you applied, and are voting by mail, your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Massachusetts Voters in Massachusetts were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Michigan You have to request a ballot to vote by mail in Michigan. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Minnesota Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Mississippi You have to apply to vote by mail, and not everyone is allowed to do so. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Missouri You have to request a ballot to vote by mail Missouri. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Montana You have to request a ballot. Your ballot must be received by Nov. 3.
  • Nebraska Voters in Nebraska were mailed applications. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Nevada Ballots were mailed to “active” voters in Nevada. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • New Hampshire You need to request a ballot in New Hampshire. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • New Jersey Ballots were sent to “active” voters. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • New Mexico You have to have requested a ballot in New Mexico. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • New York You need to request a ballot in New York. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • North Carolina You need to request a ballot in North Carolina. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • North Dakota You need to request a ballot in North Dakota. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 2.
  • Ohio Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 2.
  • Oklahoma You need to request a ballot in Oklahoma. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Oregon All voters were mailed ballots. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Pennsylvania You need to request a ballot in Pennsylvania. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Puerto Rico You have to request a ballot in Puerto Rico, and not everyone is allowed to vote by mail. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3. Notably, Puerto Rico doesn’t get any Electoral College votes, even though it is part of the United States. 
  • Rhode Island Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • South Carolina You have to request a ballot in South Carolina. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • South Dakota Voters in South Dakota need to request a ballot. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Tennessee Voters in Tennessee need to request a ballot by Oct. 27, but not everyone can vote by mail. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Texas You had to request a ballot in Texas by Oct. 23, and even then not everyone got one. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 4.
  • Utah Voters in Utah were sent ballots. Your ballot has to be postmarked by Nov. 2. 
  • Vermont Voters in Vermont were sent ballots. The Vermont Secretary of State says the following about return deadlines: “All ballots must be returned to the town clerk’s office before the close of the office on the day before the election, or to the polling place before 7 p.m. on the day of the election, in order to be counted.”
  • Virginia Voters in Virginia need to request a ballot. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Washington Voters in Washington were sent ballots. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Washington, D.C. Voters were sent ballots in D.C. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • West Virginia Voters in West Virginia need to request a ballot. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Wisconsin Voters in Wisconsin were mailed applications. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
  • Wyoming Voters in Wisconsin need to request a ballot. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
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