What is the difference between absentee voting and vote-by-mail in US Election 2024?

Election Day is almost here. Voter turnout was up in 2016 and again in 2020, and forecasters are expecting the figures to be similar if not higher this time around. Around 80-90 million US citizens will head to polling stations around the country on Tuesday to cast their vote in person but some people have already got it out of the way by voting in advance.

Follow AS’s live coverage of Election Day and the count in swing states

Early voting is useful for those who might not be able to get to their local polling station on Election Day. In most states, Early voting ended Sunday with more than 77 million advance ballots returned. Americans who might be abroad on the day, for example members of the US Military, can also mail in their ballot although that requires some planning and cannot be done last minute.

Absentee and mail-in ballots can be cast for both primary and general elections. Let’s look at absentee voting and voting-by-mail and the differences between the two as most states generally offer one or the other.

What is absentee voting?

Some states permit voters to join a permanent absentee/mail ballot voting list, also known as a “single sign-on” list - but not all and deadlines and rules on who can take part vary. Some states require an excuse to vote absentee. In most states, you must request an absentee ballot to vote in each election. But in some states, you may qualify to sign up to receive absentee ballots for every election.

In some cases, voters with permanent disabilities and senior voters are able to join a permanent list. The 11 states which offer this option are: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Maine also has this option available to senior voters.

Other states which allow eligible voters to remain on an absentee ballot list for one year include: Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.

Some states will offer in-person absentee voting (IPA) which involves going through the absentee balloting process in-person at a local election office.

How to vote with an absentee ballot

Request your ballot from your state or territory. Consult the Can I Vote page and select your state from the dropdown menu. Make sure you follow your state’s deadlines for requesting and returning your ballot.

There are a number of ways that you can return your absentee ballot - postal mail, drop boxes are located in some states. Many will let you return your ballot in person at your local election office or another location. It’s best to check with your state or local election office.

What is Vote-by-mail?

Instead of absentee voting programs, some states offer vote-by-mail (also known as all-mail) programs. They automatically send ballots to all registered voters in the state before Election Day.

Eight states and Washington, DC, allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington state.

Ballots are mailed out well ahead of Election Day - usually a month or two in advance (in 2024, mid-September) so voters have an “election period,” not just a single day, to vote. Mostly mail elections can be considered absentee voting for everyone.

The voter marks the ballot, puts it in a secrecy envelope or sleeve and then into a separate mailing envelope, signs an affidavit on the exterior of the mailing envelope, and returns the package via mail or by depositing it in a drop box.

The United States Postal Service recommends that voters who choose to vote by mail to mail in their ballots at least one week before their election office needs to receive them. If a ballot is due on Election Day, the USPS recommends mailing the ballot no later than Tuesday 29 October.

On average, it takes 2.1 days for the all-mail ballot to reach a recipient, and around the same time for the ballots to be delivered to election officials. So all in all, the whole process from door-to-door takes about a week.