Most voters know about voting in person on Election Day. You go to your correct local precinct or the voting center. County election offices typically mail voters that information; usually it's printed on the guide they receive that has a sample ballot and statements from candidates and others.
(Take note: a few states may limit in-person voting to the general public this fall. Ohio wants in-person voting only for people with disabilities and the homeless. It also requires voters to apply for a mailed-out ballot. We'll get to details about these ballots, which are often called absentee ballots. But watch what's developing in your state.)
The second option for voters is early voting. That's usually at a county office, city hall or a few sites. These usually are not the same as Election Day polling places. But the process is the same as voting on Election Day. You don't need to do anything in advance. You show up during voting hours with the required ID. (Here's a state-by-state list.) Early voting can be quicker than Election Day voting, especially if it's spread out over a few days and you go earlier in the window. It also allows voters to interact with officials to resolve any questions that arise.
The third option is voting from home. What's new in 2020 is millions of people are being urged to vote using ballots that are mailed-out -- sometimes by local officials, sometimes by the state's contractors (one source of delays). When the pandemic broke in March, mail-based voting was widely seen as the solution. But it turned out to be more complicated for tens of thousands of voters than they anticipated.
Voters were not told up front that more responsibility comes with using mailed-out ballots. They have to get the ballots, properly seal and sign ballot-return envelopes, and return them on time. If something gets delayed, these voters need to know what to do next.
In most states, people who want to vote from home will have to apply for a mailed-out ballot. This is a second and separate application process in addition to registering to vote. Most states don't let voters register and apply for a ballot at the same time.
At-home voters also have to think about how they will return their ballot. After marking their votes on the ballot cards, these ballots must be placed in privacy sleeves inside correctly filled-out and signed ballot-return envelopes. Some states let voters return these envelopes to early voting centers, drop boxes or county offices. Many states, but not all, accept them at Election Day polls. Of course, they can be mailed back, although delivering them in person removes uncertainties surrounding confidence in the United States Postal Service (USPS).
One developing variable in late summer is how widely drop boxes will be used by county election officials for the general election. These are like mailboxes. They obviously would help with reducing lines at in-person voting locations, but they place some responsibility on voters to find and use them.
Mail Ballot Details
Some states aren't simplifying the steps for people who want to vote from home.
A few states are sending all of their registered voters a mailed-out ballot. That skips the application process, which is easiest for all involved. These are mostly western states but also Vermont, the District of Columbia, and, by early August, possibly New Jersey and Maryland. However, many more states, red and blue, are mailing registered voters a vote-at-home ballot application. That form must be returned and locally processed before ballots are mailed to voters. Some red states are requiring voters to figure out these steps on their own.
Voters should act early so that they don't fall prey to delays. Apart from processing backlogs at election offices, the USPS may be slowing down delivery times, according to orders from President Trump's latest postmaster general appointee. A recent media trend has been reports predicting postal meltdowns this fall. But top state officials who have overseen elections with mailed-out ballots for years counter that ballot-return mail is local, not cross-country, and should arrive within three or four days. (Some states, including the swing states North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan, will begin sending out ballots before the end of September.)
These retired statewide officials say that "99 percent-plus" of ballot-return envelopes mailed by voters a week out -- October 27 -- should arrive on time, just as almost all of the ballot envelopes that are properly filled out and signed will be accepted on the first pass. (The ballots are then removed from their envelopes and counted.) If voters want more assurance, they can return a ballot in person: to an early voting site, drop box or county election office.
Here's where to find out your state's details and deadlines. This chart from the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has tabs that list every state's requirements to apply for a mailed-out (or absentee) ballot, the application filing deadlines and the ballot-return deadlines. A few states, like Texas, still require their voters to have an "excuse" to vote from home. (Texas's Republican leadership said that the pandemic does not qualify, which has been challenged in court.) By early August at least 28 states and the District of Columbia are allowing "no-excuse" voting from home this fall, including most swing states. That means any registered voter can get a mailed-out ballot.
Nationally, in response to COVID-19, many red and blue states have made it easier to apply to vote from home. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have online portals to apply for a ballot, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states let their voters do everything online, while others merely allow voters to start the application process there.
Here are the states with links to directly apply online for ballots: Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia. Here are links to other states and the District of Columbia that let voters download forms to be printed, filled out, signed and returned by mail or fax: District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
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