Check out our toolkit, How to Vote by Mail!
About absentee voting
If you vote absentee, you get a ballot sent to you in the mail. A ballot is the official form you use to vote. Once you get the ballot in the mail, you fill it out and send it back.
Yes. Before you can ask for an absentee ballot, you have to be registered to vote. Click here to switch to the Register to Vote page.
There are lots of reasons to vote absentee. Some people vote absentee when they’re registered to vote back home, but are away at college. Some people vote absentee because they cannot physically get to their polling place, but still want to vote. Being able to vote by mail makes it a lot easier for more people to participate.
Some states will let you vote absentee for any reason. Other states only let certain people vote absentee. You can find out about your state’s rules by visiting vote.org/absentee-voting-rules/.
Yes. Every state has different deadlines for when you can request an absentee ballot. You can send in your ballot before Election Day to make sure it gets there on time. You can find out more about deadlines in your state by visiting vote.org/absentee-ballot-deadlines/.
About this tool
You can use this tool to request your absentee ballot.
With an absentee ballot, your state will mail you a ballot to fill out at home and send back in the mail.
That way, you can cast your vote without having to go in-person to a voting place.