In the days following Election Day—or Election Week, (opens in new tab) as it appears to be in 2020—it's more important than ever to check the status of your ballot. In states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, and Alaska, the difference between the candidates is as little as 8,000 votes (opens in new tab) right now.
If you live in one of those states, click below to double-check where your ballot is at:
- Pennsylvania (opens in new tab)
- Georgia (opens in new tab)
- North Carolina (opens in new tab)
- Nevada (opens in new tab)
- Arizona (opens in new tab)
- Alaska (opens in new tab)
If your ballot is showing a status of "rejected," this could be for a few reasons—like missing a signature or using a signature that doesn't match official records; missing a witness signature or address; failing to place your ballot in a secrecy envelope when required, or accidentally adding stray markings to your ballot. To fix this, you'll have to call or go to your county elections office.
As of this writing, more than 48.6 million people (opens in new tab) have requested and sent in their absentee ballots (opens in new tab) for the 2020 election. The record-breaking number comes in response to the coronavirus pandemic; many voters this year opted to vote at home rather than head out to the polls. And if you're wondering how to track your absentee ballot, you've come to the right place.
When it comes to mail-in voting, especially this year, you'd be forgiven for feeling uncertain. There's been misinformation spread by elected officials (opens in new tab) of mail-in ballots. And as of October 27, the United States Postal Service warned (opens in new tab) that if absentee voters didn't send out their ballot that day, their ballot might not be received on time. So if you're a mail-in voter like me, now might seem like an appropriate time to freak out.
But before you do that, remind yourself that we live in the 21st century and with that comes online tracking for your mail-in ballot. Unfortunately, not all states have it available, but they're getting there. Ahead, see where your state lies on tracking and find the right place to track yours, if you can. Here's to doing our civic duty!
States that allow you track your absentee ballot:
Alabama (opens in new tab), Alaska (opens in new tab), Arizona (opens in new tab), Arkansas (opens in new tab), California (opens in new tab), Colorado (opens in new tab), Connecticut (opens in new tab), Delaware (opens in new tab), Florida (opens in new tab), Georgia (opens in new tab), Hawaii (opens in new tab), Idaho (opens in new tab), Indiana (opens in new tab), Iowa (opens in new tab), Kansas (opens in new tab), Kentucky (opens in new tab), Louisiana (opens in new tab), Maine (opens in new tab), Maryland (opens in new tab), (opens in new tab) Massachusetts (opens in new tab), Michigan (opens in new tab), Minnesota (opens in new tab), Montana (opens in new tab), Nebraska (opens in new tab), Nevada (opens in new tab), New Hampshire (opens in new tab), New Jersey (opens in new tab), New Mexico (opens in new tab), North Carolina (opens in new tab), North Dakota (opens in new tab), Ohio (opens in new tab), Oklahoma (opens in new tab), Oregon (opens in new tab), Pennsylvania (opens in new tab), Rhode Island (opens in new tab), South Carolina (opens in new tab), South Dakota (opens in new tab), Tennessee (opens in new tab), Utah (opens in new tab), Vermont (opens in new tab), Virginia (opens in new tab), Washington (opens in new tab), Washington, D.C. (opens in new tab), West Virginia (opens in new tab), Wisconsin (opens in new tab)
States that require you to call your county clerk for information on your ballot:
Wyoming (opens in new tab) and Illinois (opens in new tab)
States that only offer tracking to military and overseas absentee ballot voters:
Texas (opens in new tab) and New York (opens in new tab) (everyone can track their ballot if you voted in New York City (opens in new tab))
States that don't have tracking:
Mississippi and Missouri (you can only track if you live in Boone County (opens in new tab) or St. Louis (opens in new tab))
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