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1 [1] (March 27, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcpzq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' i ,E .$r . i , March 27, 2020 Early Voting and Mail Voting: Overview & Issues for Congress Although voting in person at a polling place on Election Day is the most common voting practice, states and localities also offer some or all of their voters opportunities to vote without going to the polls on Election Day. Sending voters ballots by mail (mail voting) and designating a pre- Election Day period when voters can receive and cast a ballot in person (early voting) are two of the most common options. Some states and localities use mail voting as their primary voting method, automatically mailing ballots to all registered voters and offering limited in-person voting options (all-mail elections). Alternative voting methods might differ from in-person voting at a polling place on Election Day in any of the following ways: when voters receive or cast a ballot, where they receive or cast it, and how they receive or cast it. The defining differences between in-person Election Day voting and early and mail voting are when voters receive and cast ballots and how they receive them, respectively. Early and mail voting might also differ from in-person Election Day voting in other ways in practice. For example, voters who receive ballots by mail typically return them by mail or in a drop box rather than casting them in person. Figure 1 presents reported voting methods from 1998 to 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, including in person on Election Day, in person before Election Day, and by mail. Some states and localities make early and/or mail voting available to all eligible voters with no excuse required (no- excuse) while others offer them only to those with an approved excuse for not voting in person on Election Day. Approved excuses vary by state or locality but commonly include circumstances like being out of the area on Election Day or having a long-term illness or disability. The mail in mail voting refers to the method by which states deliver ballots to voters. Voters who receive their ballots by mail might choose to return them by mail as well. Depending on the state or locality, voters might also have the option of leaving their mail ballots in a drop box, having them collected and submitted by a third party, or returning them at the polls or a local election office. Some states and localities provide prepaid return envelopes with mail ballots, whereas others do not. Deadlines for requesting and returning mail ballots also vary. For example, some states require mail ballots to be returned by the close of polls on Election Day, whereas others will accept them if they are postmarked by that date. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), all states allow at least some voters to receive their ballots by mail and 33 states and the District of Columbia (DC) offer some form of no-excuse mail voting. Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington require all-mail elections, and a number of the others, such as California and Utah, give counties the option of holding all-mail elections or permit all-mail elections for certain types of jurisdictions or elections. Some states have considered expanding mail voting in certain emergencies. For example, California and Maryland have made their 2020 special congressional races all-mail elections in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic. In some states that generally require an excuse to use a mail ballot, there have been proposals to allow no-excuse mail voting or add public health risks to the list of approved excuses. Figure I. Reported Methods of Voting, 1998-2018 S ' ............ C ;) 2. ........................................................ ....................... h-I ersn on Etecri Dv .....o: Eefzr tectc D .. ..... By 13 Source: Voting and Registration Supplement to the Current Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau. Notes: Respondents were asked whether they voted in person or by mail and, if the former, whether on or before Election Day. Some respondents who received their ballots by mail and returned them in person may have reported voting in person. Eartk, States that offer early voting designate days prior to Election Day when voters can receive and cast a ballot in person. Exactly where voters can vote early varies by state and locality, but early voting is usually available at select locations like vote centers or local election offices. The length of the early voting period varies by state, and many states offer early voting only on certain days of the week. States that allow voters to register to vote on Election Day may or may not also allow same-day registration during early voting; North Carolina offers same-day registration during early voting but not on Election Day. .O 'T gognpo 'popmm- , goo g 'S a X

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