Welcome to the Thursday, July 10, 2025, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- How and when states count absentee and mail-in ballots
- A look back at 2025 state primary election competitiveness
- This week’s On the Ballot features the July 15 special election for Washington, D.C. City Council
How and when states count absentee and mail-in ballots
Daily Brew readers may recall that back in April, we published a report analyzing why some states seem to count their ballots faster than others on election night. Today, as part of our ongoing coverage of election administration, we’re introducing a new report on absentee and mail-in ballot processing and counting timelines.
Our new report includes information on:
- The approaches states take to count absentee and mail-in ballots
- Defines terms like “processing”, “tabulation”, and “counting”
- Timelines for election officials to start processing and counting these ballots
Background
In general, every state has two phases in counting absentee/mail-in ballots: processing and counting.
Some states also have a third phase, tabulation, while others consider tabulation a part of processing or counting.
To learn more about each of these three terms, click here.
The receipt deadline for absentee/mail-in ballots also affects when officials can complete the work of processing and counting.
Processing
Processing refers to the steps required to prepare ballots for tabulation. Things like when processing can begin, what steps are considered part of processing, and what actions election officials may complete during the processing period vary by state.
As of June 2025:
- Nineteen states permit election officials to fully process and scan at least some early and absentee/mail-in ballots before Election Day.
- Twenty-six states and D.C. permit election officials to process at least some aspects of absentee/mail-in ballots before Election Day.
- Five states do not permit election officials to begin processing any aspect of absentee/mail-in ballots until Election Day.
Click here to learn more about each state’s laws on when processing can begin.
Counting
Counting means the actual tabulation of votes (and processing ballots through tallying machines).
In states where election officials may scan or tabulate ballots before Election Day, tabulation may simply mean pressing a button to get the results of previously scanned ballots. Elsewhere, counting may involve organizing, scanning, and tallying ballots on Election Day.
In states where at least some precincts hand-count ballots, the rules and timelines for tallying may differ between jurisdictions.
As of June 2025:
- Eighteen states allowed counting to begin before Election Day.
- Fifteen states permitted counting to begin before polls close on Election Day.
- Seventeen states required counting to begin after polls close on Election Day.
- One state—Connecticut—allowed the local registrar of voters to determine when ballots are counted.
Click here to learn more about each state’s laws on when counting can begin.
Ballot receipt deadlines
Regardless of when states permit election officials to process or count ballots, starting this work depends on when they receive completed ballots.
As of June 2025:
- One state—Louisiana—required ballots returned by mail to be received the day before Election Day.
- Thirty-four states required a ballot to be received by Election Day.
- Six states had a receipt deadline between one and four days after the election.
- Seven states and D.C. had a deadline between five and 10 days after Election Day.
- Two states—Illinois and Washington—had a deadline between 14 and 20 days after the election.
Click here to read the full report.
A look back at 2025 state primary election competitiveness
Now that this year’s state primary elections have come to a close, today we’re taking a look at their competitiveness.
New Jersey held primaries for governor and General Assembly, the state’s lower legislative chamber. Virginia held primaries for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and House of Delegates. Wisconsin held a non-partisan primary for superintendent of public instruction. Here’s a look at some competitiveness and incumbency statistics from those elections.
The percentage of open seats this year (5.9%) was lower than in any year since 2011, and the percentage of contested primaries was 17.6%, below the average of 19.7% from 2011 to 2023. The percentage of incumbents facing primaries was 22.4%. The average in the previous seven cycles was 21.8%.
Together, the three states held 51 primaries out of a possible 289 for the 185 total offices up for election.
Three incumbents lost in state legislative primaries, all Democratic incumbents in New Jersey. This was the third-fewest incumbents defeated in odd-year cycles since 2011, behind 2017 with none and 2013 with two.
Click here to see our data on primary election competitiveness in state government this year, and here to see our analysis of incumbents defeated in state legislative elections.
This week’s On the Ballot features the July 15 special election for Washington, D.C. City Council
In this week’s new episode of On the Ballot, WAMU 88.5’s Alex Koma joins host Norm Leahy to discuss the July 15 special election for Ward 8 on the Washington, D.C. City Council.
We also covered this race in our July 1 edition of The Daily Brew. Click here to see that coverage.
Here’s a quick recap:
- Seven candidates are running to fill the vacancy that was created when the council voted to expel former incumbent Trayon White (D) on Feb. 4, 2025.
- Four candidates lead in media attention: Salim Adofo (D), Mike Austin (D), Sheila Bunn (D), and White, the previous incumbent.
On Aug. 19, 2024, federal agents arrested White after he allegedly accepted bribes to influence government contracts. White has pleaded not guilty, and his trial will begin in January 2026.
Click here to see our full coverage of the race and here to listen to the episode.
Subscribe to On the Ballot on YouTube or your preferred podcast app, or click here to listen.