With less than two weeks until Election Day, early voting in person and by mail is underway. Data from the University of Florida's Election Lab found that, as of Oct. 24, 16 million of the 63 million requested mail-in ballots have been sent in.
But some states are dealing with setbacks beyond voters' control. States like North Carolina, which was hit by back-to-backhurricanes, have had to deal with accessibility issues, as well as delayed absentee ballots after a court ordered a last-minute removal of former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s name. In Georgia, a new law has decreased the amount of time voters have to request absentee ballots and has imposed stricter ID requirements. On Thursday, investigators arrested a suspect accused of setting fire to a USPS mailbox in Phoenix, Ariz., damaging around 20 ballots.
What do Americans have to be aware of when it comes to avoiding an issue with mail-in ballots? We break down everything you should know to make sure your absentee vote still counts.
Why wouldn't my mail-in vote count?
It is not common for a mail-in ballot to be rejected. In a report on the 2020 election, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission found that 98.8% of mail-in ballots were counted and 0.8% were rejected.
Ballots that had missing or unverified signatures, or arrived too late, were among the most common reasons to be rejected. According to the same 2020 election report, nearly a third of the rejected mailed ballots were rejected because there was a nonmatching signature and an additional 12% were rejected because the signature was missing entirely.
The National Conference of State Legislatures explains that election officials have a specific process to examine and validate every signature on mail-in ballots. However, 10 states are not required to verify the signatures: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming.
Thirty-one states do require mail-in ballot signature verification, and election officials normally compare the signatures with other documents signed by the voter — typically past election ballots or other information linked to voter registration. Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota and Wisconsin require voters to send copies of IDs with their ballots.
After signing their mail-in ballot, voters in Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin must also get a witness's signature. Alabama and North Carolina require two witness signatures or a notary's.
Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma require the ballot envelope to be notarized.
MIT's Election Data and Science Lab analyzed mail-in ballots from the 2020 election and found that some were rejected because the ballot envelope was unsealed, the voter was ineligible to vote by mail and USPS delays.
Why are officials so strict about signatures?
In most states, voters have to show some form of physical identification when casting their ballot in person. In other states, an ID is not required, so voters can instead sign their ballots and election workers will compare that to previous voting records. It's the same for mail-in voting — the signatures are a way to verify voter identity without using a physical ID.
The Brennan Center for Justice, an independent law and policy organization, explains signatures are so important on mail-in ballots because they can help prevent issues like election deniers and ballot manipulation. It also ensures military personnel, aid workers and Americans living abroad have a secure way of voting, too.
"Ballots that are returned by mail or dropped off at a designated location must be processed by an election worker," one report reads. "Processing generally involves confirming the identity and authenticity of the voter, verifying the voter's information to confirm that they are registered and eligible to vote and checking the signature on the ballot envelope against the signature on file."
Will my state notify me if my mail-in ballot gets rejected?
Some states offer voters the chance to “cure” mail-in ballot mistakes. This could mean fixing ballot mistakes — like adding in a signature — and sending them back in time to be counted.
However, not every state requires its election officials to notify voters if there's an issue or offer an opportunity for voters to correct it. In Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming, ballots with missing or mismatched signatures are not counted.
Only two-thirds of Pennsylvania's counties notify mail voters, and there is a state Supreme Court case currently pending to make the requirement statewide. On Oct. 23, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court also ruled to allow those whose mail ballots were rejected to vote provisionally. A provisional ballot is used when a voter's name doesn't appear on the in-person voter registration list at the polling place. Those ballots are placed in a separate envelope, rather than a ballot box, and the voter listed is checked later to make sure they're registered. If they are, the provisional vote counts. Every state has been required to offer provisional ballots since 2002.
You can check your state's notification processes at the National Conference of State Legislatures website.
Can I fix my rejected mail-in ballot and still get it to count?
What voters can do to correct mistakes on a mail-in ballot varies by state, and not all states allow voters to fix it.
The following states are somewhat more flexible and allow voters time even after Election Day to resolve the issue and still have their vote counted: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
You can check your state's ballot correction deadlines at the National Conference of State Legislatures website.
Can I decide to vote in person after requesting a mail-in ballot?
Voters who initially applied for an absentee or mail-in ballot are allowed to change their minds (although election officials do recommend voters stick to their original plan).
Depending on the state and county, there are different rules for voters who decide to vote in person instead of mailing in their ballot.
You can check your state's rules for switching to in-person voting on ProPublica.
What happens if my ballot gets destroyed?
If a voter suspects their ballot was damaged in transit — like this rare case in Arizona — the voter can check the delivery status of the ballot on their county's voting site, regardless of what state the voter lives in. Tampering with political or election mail is a federal crime.
Voters with missing or damaged ballots can request new ones, although they should be aware of the deadlines set by their respective states (in Arizona, voters have to request it by the end of day on Oct. 25).
You can track your ballot or your ballot application, regardless of what state or county you live in, here on Vote.org.