Voting by mail has become a popular choice in many places, but not everyone approves of this method. There have been many concerns about this type of voting over the past few years, leading to more voting restrictions.
Eight states in the country allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail. This means all registered voters get a ballot in the mail automatically. These states include California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and D.C. When it comes to voting by mail, these eight states are the easiest states to vote in.
Nebraska and North Dakota allow counties to individually decide whether they’ll conduct elections by mail. There are other states, such as Alaska and Florida, that allow only certain elections to be conducted by mail.
Another layer to the voting-by-mail process is absentee voting. With absentee voting, registered voters can request a ballot in the mail if they’re unable to vote in person. There are 28 states in the country that offer no-excuse absentee voting. This means that voters can request an absentee or mail-in ballot without having to give a reason why.
The remaining states in the country require a specific reason, but the acceptable reasons vary by state. These states make up the hardest states to vote by mail. One of the acceptable reasons listed in certain states is being an ACP participant or the Address Confidentiality Program. This includes those whose information must be protected if they are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Additionally, all states must send mail-in ballots to voters in the military and overseas voters according to federal law.
To determine the hardest places to vote by mail, 24/7 Tempo examined the voting regulations in each state. We created the list based on which states only allow voters to request a mail-in ballot if they meet certain criteria. The acceptable reasons we shared for each state are based on information from the National Conference of State Legislatures. (Also See The Toughest Questions on the US Citizenship Test.)
Here are the hardest places to vote by mail.
Alabama
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, work shift is during all voting hours, student living outside of county, election worker or poll worker, and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote).
Arkansas
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, and religious belief of practice.
Connecticut
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, election worker or poll worker, and religious belief or practice.
Delaware
Allen & Ginter (American, Richmond, Virginia) Capitol of Delaware in Dover, from the General Government and State Capitol Buildings series (N14) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands, 1889 American, Commercial color lithograph; Sheet: 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (3.8 x 7 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick (Burdick 201, N14.19) http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/408012
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, work shift is during all voting hours, and religious belief or practice.
Indiana
DCF 1.0
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, persons over the age of 65, work shift is during all voting hours, election worker or poll worker, religious belief or practice, and ACP participant.
Kentucky
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, persons over a certain age, student living outside of county, ACP participant, and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote).
Louisiana
Louisiana State Capitol - Baton Rouge
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, persons over 65, student living outside of county, election or poll worker, ACP participant, and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote).
Mississippi
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, and persons over 65.
Missouri
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, election worker or poll worker, religious belief or practice, ACP participant, and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote).
New Hampshire
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, work shift is during all voting hours, and religious practice or belief.
Puerto Rico
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote). Residents of Puerto Rico can vote in the primaries.
South Carolina
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, persons over 65, work shift is during all voting hours, and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote).
Tennessee
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, persons over 60, work shift is during all voting hours, student living outside of county, election worker or poll worker, and religious belief or practice.
Texas
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, persons over 65, ACP participant, and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote).
Virgin Islands
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, student living outside of county, religious belief or practice, and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote).
West Virginia
- Acceptable reasons for mail-in ballot include: out of county on election day, illness or disability, persons of advanced age, work shift is during all voting hours, student living outside of county, ACP participant, and incarcerated (but still qualified to vote) (Don’t miss The Most Famous Trials in US History.).