Easy Way to Register and/or Vote Absentee in Your State

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

Our newspaper just ran an editorial to help people vote as easily as possible in this Covid 19 year. The editorial suggested going to (non-partisan) Vote.org, which makes it really easy to get the information you need in your state to register/ vote absentee, or just become informed about how your state is handling voting this year.

Deadlines for registration or absentee balloting may come up sooner than you think. Now is a good time to check all this out!!

 

[LiteBrite]

Thank you for this - just completed my online request for a vote by mail ballot, quickly and easily.

 

[JimMIA]

We got our mail ballots for our primary election directly through our county Supervisor of Elections webpage. Quick, easy, free, and no spam worries afterward. We've already voted, including DD18's first vote.

There has also been a good bit of controversy surrounding vote.org in the last few months. You might want to Google first and then decide.

 

[georgina]

I already applied for a mail-in ballot, in PA the application goes through the state voter services website. i told the county I am planning to work the Nov election, but should I get sick the week before I want to make sure I have voted.

 

[Moliphino]

MA sent applications for mail in ballots to all registered voters, noting that everyone is eligible this year with no reason needed. I already sent mine back in.

 

[JimMIA]

MA sent applications for mail in ballots to all registered voters, noting that everyone is eligible this year with no reason needed. I already sent mine back in.

No reason needed for us either. I'm not sure if that's a county policy or state law.

 

[MrsPete]

Thank you for this - just completed my online request for a vote by mail ballot, quickly and easily.

Yes, everyone in my household just applied for an absentee voting ballot. We've never done it before, but it seems this is a good year to start.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks for the reminder. I just ordered mine from the county clerk's office.

 

[cabanafrau]

No reason needed for us either. I'm not sure if that's a county policy or state law.

In Michigan it's come about because of a change in the law regarding absentee voting. Previously we had to sign an affidavit to apply for an absentee ballot whenever there was a need to vote absentee -- and legally there had to be a reason a voter would be absent from the polls in person on a voting day. The affidavit meant you were subject to a perjury charge if the reason stated for being absent from the polls was subsequently found to be untruthful. With the change in the law Michigan voters can apply to vote for a specific election or all elections absentee with no need to give a reason.

 

[dina444444]

CA is sending mail in ballots to all registered voters. The county I live in sent a post card out in the past week to confirm addresses that you had send back if you've moved or if the person listed no longer lives at that address.

CA never needed an excuse before to get an absentee ballot. I've been a permanent absentee ballot voter since I registered to vote since I went to college out of state.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I did it for the primary. I haven't decided yet whether I want to vote in person in November.

 

[DRussell88]

All we have to do in my county in FL is fill out an online form. I do mail-in for all voting due to my work schedule and there's really no questions asked about it.

 

[okeydokey]

It's always a good idea to check your registration too, be sure you haven't been purged.

 

[KayMichigan]

Already voted absentee for our August 4 primary! I mailed it in just to see if it got there, and it did. We can check our ballot status online.

For the November 3 election I'll probably drive my ballot down to the clerk's office and hand it in in person, just to make sure. The office is just around the corner from me. Some clerk's offices have ballot boxes right in the parking lot but ours is a tray in the clerk's office.

 

[kaytieeldr]

MA sent applications for mail in ballots to all registered voters, noting that everyone is eligible this year with no reason needed. I already sent mine back in.

Is that what that card is? Okay, I'll fill it out now and send it in!

 

[MOPNB]

Our outgoing mail REGULARLY gets lost - it took 5 weeks for something to go to a town 45 minutes away.
I don't think I'll vote by mail

 

[Shellsbutt]

Our outgoing mail REGULARLY gets lost - it took 5 weeks for something to go to a town 45 minutes away.
I don't think I'll vote by mail

I don't know where you live, but here in Northern CA, they have drop-off locations. When you receive your ballot in the mail, they include ways you can turn it in, doesn't have to be mailed in. And they usually start accepting them several weeks before the election. I've never understood why anyone would want to stand in an hours plus line on election day anyway

 

[Feralpeg]

It is super easy to vote by mail in Florida. You go to the county election board website and sign up. You sign for two years. I get my ballot at least a month prior to each election. I fill it out and mail it in at my discretion. I love it!

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

Texas makes absentee voting ridiculously difficult (and even in the pandemic, our AG is working every angle to keep it that way), and registering is also much more complicated than it should be (including our notorious non-compliance with the Motor Voter Laws) but we have decent early voting options, so that is what I'll be doing.

 

[Skippy918]

Texas makes absentee voting ridiculously difficult (and even in the pandemic, our AG is working every angle to keep it that way), and registering is also much more complicated than it should be (including our notorious non-compliance with the Motor Voter Laws) but we have decent early voting options, so that is what I'll be doing.

Yup. They kept flip flopping on whether Covid was a valid reason to request an absentee ballot. They did recently say that early voting for November will be 3 weeks. That should help. Hopefully there will be more early voting locations compared to this month’s runoff elections.
They also changed the law last year that early voting locations had to operate for the entire period.