POLITICS
Where does Jimmy Carter cast his vote? Does an absentee (mail) ballot count if voter dies before Election Day?
As the former president turns 100 years old, one of his final desires is to make his vote count in the 2024 Presidential Elections.
At 99 years old and 364 days, former President Jimmy Carter may be in hospice care, but that hasn’t dimmed his civic duty. With his home state of Georgia poised to be a key battleground in the upcoming election, Carter plans to cast his absentee ballot. He’s made it clear, in fact, that he hopes to make it just long enough to vote – specifically, for Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to his grandson, Jason Carter, the former president recently said, “I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris.” And though his health may not allow him to appear in person, Carter’s vote will still count the moment it’s processed by Georgia’s election officials. In Georgia, once an absentee ballot is verified and removed from its envelope, it can’t be traced back to the voter, which means Carter’s vote will be locked in regardless of what happens next.
Absentee ballots: how states treat them after death
But what if, as morbid as it sounds, someone casts an absentee ballot and dies before Election Day? This situation is more common than you might think, particularly in states like Georgia with early voting. Fortunately for voters keen to be involved in their final days, Georgia’s law is clear: if a voter’s absentee ballot is processed before they pass away, their vote counts.
However, it’s a patchwork of rules across the United States. While 10 states explicitly allow absentee votes to count if the voter dies before Election Day, nine others, including states like Pennsylvania and Illinois, prohibit it. Some states, like Missouri, have a unique twist, requiring that election authorities reject a ballot only if the voter’s death is proven before polls open and their ballot is still sealed.
Can an absentee vote be challenged if the voter dies?
In states such as Colorado and Kansas, absentee ballots can be challenged on the grounds that the voter died before Election Day. If there’s sufficient evidence after an investigation, the ballot may be discarded. But here’s where things get tricky: once an absentee ballot is opened and separated from identifying information, it’s nearly impossible to trace it back to the voter.
In states without specific laws addressing this issue – 26 in total, to be exact – it’s mostly a matter of whether election officials receive word of a voter’s passing before their ballot is processed. Otherwise, the vote slips into the mix, as anonymous as any other. Let’s put all that into a summary.
States that permit counting absentee ballots from deceased voters:
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Montana
- North Dakota
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Note: Connecticut only counts absentee ballots from deceased voters if the voter was a member of the armed services.
States that prohibit counting absentee ballots from deceased voters:
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Missouri (Ballots are rejected only if evidence is shown to an election authority that the voter died before polls open on Election Day, and the ballot is still sealed in the envelope)
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin
States where absentee ballots can be challenged if voter dies before election day:
- Colorado
- Kansas
- New York
After investigation, if evidence shows the voter has died, the ballot is rejected.
States that prohibit counting deceased voters' ballots via attorney general opinions:
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
Remaining states:
In the remaining 26 states, no clear guidance was found on whether absentee/mail ballots from deceased voters are counted.
Jimmy Carter’s enduring legacy
Carter, who turns 100 on Tuesday, October 1st, has seen plenty of elections in his lifetime. He’s lived longer than any other US president and continues to remain “emotionally engaged,” according to his family, as he nears what is likely to be his final vote. Despite the physical toll of hospice care at his age, it’s fair to say that his dedication to the democratic process will just add to his legacy.
According to Georgian election officials, absentee ballots will start being mailed out on October 7th, so it should land at Carter’s home in Plains several weeks before the Harris vs Trump big day on November 5th.