This year the federal election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. It will include president, vice president, 1/3 of the Senate and all of the House of Representatives. There will also be local elections but those will vary by state.

 

There are two primary ways to vote: polling station and mail in.

 

Mail-in

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There are different ways states use mail-in elections. Some use it for all their elections both local and federal and others use them occasionally and some don’t use it at all. Below is a list that specifies which states use mail-in and which use it occasionally.

 

States that use mail-in for all elections:

• Colorado

• Hawaii

• Oregon

• Utah

• Washington

 

States that allow counties to opt into mail-in elections:

• California: any county can use mail-in

• Nebraska: any county with less than 10,000 people may apply to use mail-in

• North Dakota: any county can use mail-in. However, there must be at least one polling place in every county

 

States that use mail-in for some elections:

• Alaska: elections that are not held on the same day, a part primary or a municipal election

• Arizona: city, town, school district or special district elections

• Florida: referendum elections at the county, city, school district or special district levels

• Kansas: nonpartisan elections where no candidate is elected, retained or recalled and not held on the same day as another election

• Maryland: special elections that are not held on the same day as a primary or general election

• Missouri: nonpartisan elections where no candidate is elected, retained or recalled

• Montana: Any election other than regular federal, state or county election

• Wyoming: special elections not held in conjunction with a primary, general or statewide election

 

States that allow some jurisdictions to use mail-in:

• Idaho: A jurisdiction containing no more than 140 registered electors at the last general election can be designated by the board of county commissioners to use mail

• Minnesota: If a municipality has less than 400 registered voters on June 1 of an election year and is not located in a metropolitan county

• Nevada: Whenever there are not more than 20 voters registered at the time of the last general election

• New Jersey: A municipality with less than 500 voters registered can use mail-in

• New Mexico: A county with less than 100 voters and the nearest polling place is in a different county more than 20 miles driving distance can use mail-in

 

 

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Polling Stations

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Most states do use polling stations to facilitate elections, as shown in the map above.

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Follow this link to find a polling station near you: https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/

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Absentee Voting

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Absentee voting allows U.S. citizens to vote in elections when they either cannot make it to the polling station or are not currently living in the state or jurisdiction where they are registered to vote.

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Rules of absentee voting vary from state to state and may require a valid excuse. In most states, all that is required is a request to receive a mailed ballot.

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The most common reasons for absentee voting are:

• Being unable to get to the polls due to illness, injury or disability

• Being on a business trip or vacation outside the state one is registered in on election day

• Being a student at an out-of-state college or university

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SOURCES:

https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx#overview

https://www.usa.gov/voting

https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/all-mail-elections.aspx

https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_methods_and_equipment_by_state