Eight states—Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington—are holding statewide elections this year.

Absentee/mail-in voting is voting that does not happen in person on Election Day but instead occurs another way, usually by mail. All states allow for some form of absentee/mail-in voting. Some states require voters to provide a valid excuse in order to be eligible to vote absentee/by mail, while others do not.

Seven states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington—provide for automatic mail-in voting, meaning that every voter receives a ballot in the mail by default. In Vermont, voters automatically receive a ballot for general elections only.

Fifteen states require voters to provide a reason for requesting a mail-in ballot. Twenty-eight states do not require voters to provide a reason for requesting a mail-in ballot. 

The table below shows the absentee/mail-in request deadlines for primary and general elections this year:

Rules for requesting absentee/mail-in ballots vary by state. For example, Kentucky requires requests for absentee/mail ballots to be submitted through its online system, while New Jersey does not accept request made online or electronically. In New Jersey, absentee/mail-in ballot requests must be either submitted in person or by mail, while Wisconsin does not allow in-person requests for absentee/mail-in ballots. Requests must be made either online or by mail in Wisconsin. 

Of the eight states holding statewide elections this year, Mississippi is the only one that does not require requests for absentee/mail-in ballots to be submitted by any specific deadline.