• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. absentee ballot>

Which states allow no-excuse absentee voting?

David Meyers
https://twitter.com/davidmeyers?lang=en
June 02, 2022
absentee ballots

Election workers in Detroit process absentee ballots during the 2020 election.

Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

Rhode Island is on the verge of allowing any voter to use an absentee ballot without providing a specific reason. If Gov. Daniel McKee signs the bill, just 16 states will require would-be absentee voters to provide an excuse.

Currently, 25 states and the District of Columbia allow no-excuse absentee balloting, and an additional six have all-mail voting.

Proponents of universal absentee voting say such systems make it easier for more people to vote, particularly minorities, those who live in rural areas and people with disabilities. Advocates also claim that safeguards built into the system ensure mail voting is as secure as in-person balloting.


Opponents of no-excuse mail balloting believe it increases the risk of voter fraud and is an unreliable method of voting because ballots can become lost and the system introduces the possibility of errors such as mismatched signatures.

In states that require excuses, common options include illness, absence from the voting jurisdiction, disability and being a caregiver.

Amidst a raging pandemic, voting by mail surged in 2020 with a number of states loosening the rules, at least temporarily. That year, 46 percent of voters cast their ballot by mail; never before had even a quarter of voters used that method.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

states that allow no-excuse absentee ballots

Even as mail voting has expanded, voters in New York strongly rejected a ballot proposal last year that would have instituted a no-excuse system. The result was unexpected as liberal-leaning states have embraced the concept more than conservative states.

Other states in the Northeast have debated similar proposals since the 2020 election.

Connecticut lawmakers have considered allowing a people to vote on a constitutional amendment that would permit no-excuse absentee ballots but have not been able to muster enough votes to advance the proposal.

In March 2021, Republicans in the New Hampshire legislature defeated a bill that would have established people to vote by mail with not excuse.

From Your Site Articles
  • Report: How states score on mail and early voting - The Fulcrum ›
  • Vote-by-mail stopped in N.Y., may advance in D.C. - The Fulcrum ›
  • Democrats sue left-leaning New York in ballot access lawsuit - The ... ›
  • Report: Restricting vote by mail won't combat fraud - The Fulcrum ›
  • New Hampshire Republicans stop no-excuse absentee voting - The ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Va. lawmakers pass bill to allow no-excuse absentee voting ›
  • Arguments for and against no-excuse absentee/mail-in voting ... ›
  • Vote by mail: Which states allow absentee voting - Washington Post ›
  • Table 1: States with No-Excuse Absentee Voting ›
absentee ballot

Join an Upcoming Event

Democracy Happy Hour

Fix Democracy First
Feb 01, 2023 at 5:00 pm PDT
Read More

STAR Voting California Monthly Meeting

Equal Vote
Feb 01, 2023 at 6:00 pm PDT
Read More

Oregon STAR Voting Monthly Meeting

Equal Vote
Feb 07, 2023 at 6:00 pm PDT
Read More

STAR Voting Oregon Chapter Meeting

Equal Vote
Feb 08, 2023 at 6:00 pm CDT
Read More

Democracy Happy Hour

Fix Democracy First
Feb 15, 2023 at 5:00 pm PDT
Read More

Georgia STAR Voting Monthly Meeting

Equal Vote
Feb 17, 2023 at 7:00 pm EST
Read More
View All Events

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Steward leadership

David L. Nevins
1h

Sharing a common fate

Kevin Frazier
1h

Flame retardants in your earbuds? Toxic chemicals in homes? Left and right are sick of It.

Joan Blades
John Gable
31 January

What can replace religion for peace of mind and shared moral values?

Daniel O. Jamison
31 January

Part IV: Reforming constitutional convention campaigns

J.H. Snider
30 January

Winning GOP strategy in 2024 – back to business with immigration reform

Neil Hare
30 January
Videos

Video: How the baby boom changed American politics

Our Staff

Video: What the speakership election tells us about the 118th Congress webinar

Our Staff

Video: We need more bipartisan commitment to democracy: Pennsylvania governor

Our Staff

Video: Meet the citizen activists championing primary reform

Our Staff

Video: Veterans for Political Innovation - Who we are

Our Staff

Video: Want to fight polarization? Take a vacation!

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Separating news from noise

Our Staff
30 January

Podcast: Deepening democracy in the states

Our Staff
27 January

Podcast: How the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack impacted politics

Our Staff
26 January

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Our Staff
25 January
Recommended
Steward leadership

Steward leadership

Big Picture
Sharing a common fate

Sharing a common fate

Big Picture
Video: How the baby boom changed American politics

Video: How the baby boom changed American politics

Flame retardants in your earbuds? Toxic chemicals in homes? Left and right are sick of It.

Flame retardants in your earbuds? Toxic chemicals in homes? Left and right are sick of It.

Big Picture
What can replace religion for peace of mind and shared moral values?

What can replace religion for peace of mind and shared moral values?

Big Picture
Video: What the speakership election tells us about the 118th Congress webinar

Video: What the speakership election tells us about the 118th Congress webinar

Congress