If you received a ballot in the mail but changed your mind and want to vote in person, there’s good news: you probably can.
Details differ from state to state. in some, you’ll be allowed to cast a normal ballot, and in others you’ll cast a “provisional” vote, which will be counted once election officials determine you haven’t yet voted.
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You may need to take your mail-in ballot to the polling place or election office and give it to the poll workers to void or destroy it yourself, and you may need to sign an affidavit stating that you have not yet voted by mail.
However, many election officials across the country encourage mail-in voters to continue with their original voting plan. “I encourage people who have received an absentee ballot to go ahead and vote that ballot,” said idaho deputy secretary of state jason hancock. “Spoiling ballots and casting new ones increases the cost and administrative burden of conducting an election and can slow down the voting process for anyone behind the voter in line at the polls.” With a week to go until Election Day, voters can still drop off mail-in ballots at county or city drop boxes.
When you arrive at the polling place or voting site, poll workers may be able to check a database to see if you returned a mail-in ballot, but such systems don’t exist everywhere. Be prepared to explain your situation, and it’s a good idea to bring your mail-in ballot just in case.
state by state guide
These guidelines may change, and there may be significant differences by county or city, and differences between early voting and Election Day. check with your local election office to confirm the procedure in your area before you go to vote.
If your experience differs from the tips below, please let us know and be sure to sign up with our polling land project to alert us if you have any issues at the polls.
alabama
You should expect to cast a provisional vote.
alaska
according to the elections division, “you must destroy and discard your absentee ballot if you choose to vote in person.”
arizona
You should expect to cast a provisional vote.
arkansas
If you take your absentee ballot package to the county clerk’s office and “spoil” it, you can cast a regular ballot in person. “If they don’t have the packet, they will have to vote a provisional ballot until the county board of election commissioners can determine if the other ballot is returned,” said chris powell, press secretary for the arkansas secretary of state.
california
If you did not receive your ballot in the mail, do not have it with you, or election officials cannot verify that you did not return it, you will vote a provisional ballot.
red
Coloradons have voted primarily by mail since 2013, but if you don’t have your mail-in ballot, you can still vote in person.
connecticut
As long as you haven’t returned your mail-in ballot, you can vote in person, but you should dispose of the unused mail-in ballot, said gina atanasoff, press secretary for the secretary of state.
delaware
according to the elections department: “when you arrive at your polling place, an election official (poll worker) will confirm through the poll book that your vote-by-mail (vbm) ballot has not been returned to the department. your unreturned vbm ballot will be voided and you will be allowed to vote in person at the polling place.”
district of colombia
all registered voters were mailed a ballot. According to the Board of Elections: “You can throw away the 2020 General Election ballot you received in the mail. we will provide you with a ballot at the polling place.” You can also bring your ballot and have the poll workers dispose of it.
florida
If you have a mail-in ballot, bring it to the polls. the poll workers will cancel it and direct you to cast a regular ballot. if you don’t have a mail-in ballot, they will check to see if the election office received it before allowing you to vote. if they can’t confirm if you returned the ballot by mail, but you haven’t voted yet, you can still cast a provisional ballot.
georgia
according to the secretary of state: “if you don’t receive your absentee ballot after submitting your application, contact your county recorder to evaluate your options. If there is not enough time to receive a new absentee ballot, or if for some reason you cannot receive another one, you may vote in person. If you attempt to vote in person because you never received a requested absentee ballot, you will need to sign a document that proves you are only voting once. if you request and return an absentee ballot, you cannot change your mind and vote in person. once you return your absentee ballot, you will have voted.”
hawaii
all active registered voters received ballots by mail, but if you prefer to vote in person, you can do so at any voter service center in your county.
idaho
If time permits, take your mail-in ballot to the county clerk’s office before Election Day to have it spoiled, Deputy Secretary of State Jason Hancock said. otherwise, bring it to the polls to be spoofed by a poll worker who will give you a new ballot to vote in person.
illinois
according to the board of elections: “if you already received your ballot in the mail, take it with you to an early voting site or your polling place on election day and give it to an election judge. your mail-in ballot will be voided and you will receive a regular ballot. If you have not yet received your ballot in the mail, you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying that you have not received your ballot. then you will be issued a regular ballot. If you received your ballot in the mail but lost it, you can sign an affidavit certifying that you have not yet voted in this election. then you will be issued a provisional ballot.”
indian
If you have a mail-in ballot, give it to a poll worker to vote a regular ballot. If you never received a ballot in the mail, sign an affidavit at your polling place to vote a regular ballot. If you mailed in your completed ballot but it was rejected, go to the county board of elections before 5 p.m. on election day to request an abs-21 form and then go to your polling place to vote, depending on the electoral division.
iowa
According to the secretary of state, “if you have not returned your absentee ballot on Election Day, you have the following options: deliver your absentee ballot with your vote to the county auditor’s office before polls close on Election Day, drop off your absentee ballot at the polls and vote a regular ballot, or vote a provisional ballot at the polls if you are unable to drop off your voted absentee ballot ”.
kansas
You should expect to cast a provisional vote.
kentucky
You can vote in person if you didn’t receive your ballot in the mail by October 1. 28. In accordance with the emergency administrative regulation issued for Nov. 3 elections, “if a voter applied for, but did not receive their absentee ballot by October 28, 2020, the voter may appear at a county polling place to vote in person.” your absentee ballot request will be canceled in the system and you will sign an oath before voting.
Louisiana
according to the secretary of state: “you can vote in person during early voting or on election day as long as you haven’t returned your absentee ballot to the voter registrar. simply destroy your absentee ballot after you have voted in person during early voting or on Election Day.”
main
If voters received an absentee ballot, they “must vote it out or visit their clerk to return it and be removed from the absentee voting list. Voters will not be eligible to receive a second in-person absentee ballot prior to Election Day if they have already received one at home,” said Kristen Schulze Muszynski, Communications Director for the Maine Secretary of State. For more details, see your state’s guidance on absentee voting. Although the state discourages voters from “wasting their absentee ballot,” Muszynski said if a voter shows up on Nov. 1. 3 and have not yet cast an absentee ballot, you will be allowed to cast a regular ballot in person. “If people plan to do this, we ask that they return their absentee ballot to the clerk before Election Day. they should not expect to take their ballot to the polls and cast it at that time.”
maryland
You should expect to cast a provisional vote.
massachusetts
according to the secretary of the commonwealth: “you can vote in person as long as you haven’t voted by mail. If you choose not to return your ballot by mail, you can vote in person on Election Day or during early voting. You can also vote in person if you mail in your ballot and it doesn’t arrive at your election office on Election Day or if your mail-in ballot is rejected for any reason.”
michigan
Bring your mail-in ballot to your precinct polling place on Election Day to “turn it in” in exchange for a new ballot in person. If your ballot is lost or destroyed, you can sign a statement to that effect and vote at your precinct polling place.
minnesota
according to the secretary of state: “as long as election officials haven’t counted your absentee ballot, you can still cast your ballot in person by voting at your polling place on Election Day or at your local early voting “. Location. You can track the status of your absentee ballot to see when it is mailed to you and when election officials receive it. after voting in person, the unique ballot identification number on your original absentee ballot will be invalidated, so if it is returned to the election office, officials will not count it. If you plan to vote in person, please do not bring your absentee ballot. your election official will provide you with a new ballot to complete that day.”
mississippi
You should expect to issue an affidavit ballot.
Missouri
contact your local electoral authority.
mountain
Most counties conduct this election primarily by mail, with ballots mailed to all active registered voters; others are holding an election at the polling place, with the option to request an absentee ballot. For guidance on how to vote in person in a mail-in election county or if you requested an absentee ballot in a polling place election county, contact your county elections office.
nebraska
You should expect to cast a provisional vote.
snowfall
all active registered voters received a ballot by mail. “Voters who choose not to vote by mail can vote in person by returning their mail-in ballot or signing an affidavit saying they will not/have not voted their mail-in ballot,” said Jennifer Russell, public information officer for the secretary of state. snowfall .
new hampshire
You can vote a regular ballot at the polls as long as you haven’t returned your voted mail-in ballot. destroy the unused mail-in ballot.
new jersey
new jersey is conducting this election primarily by mail for the first time. If you prefer to vote in person, you can go to your polling place on Election Day and cast a provisional ballot.
new mexico
You can vote in person at your polling place after signing an affidavit stating that you did not and will not vote your mail-in ballot. If your absentee ballot did not arrive, you can also pick up a replacement absentee ballot at your polling place on Election Day.
new york
You can vote in person during early voting or on Election Day.
north carolina
according to the state board of elections: “you can still vote in person as long as you don’t return your absentee ballot. your absentee ballot will be void after voting in person. you can simply discard your absentee ballot; you don’t need to take it with you to the polling place.”
north dakota
To vote in person, take your unused mail-in ballot to the polls where a poll worker will void it. if you don’t have it with you, you can still vote in person as long as you haven’t mailed in your voted ballot.
ohio
During early voting, you may vote a regular ballot in person, in accordance with a directive from the secretary of state. officials ask you to bring your absentee ballot so it can be spoiled, but if you don’t, you will still be able to vote. however, if you wait until Election Day, you should expect to cast a provisional ballot.
oklahoma
destroy your absentee ballot and accompanying materials. Before you vote at the polling place or early voting site, you will sign an affidavit stating that you did not vote the mail-in ballot you requested.
oregon
“We have been voting exclusively by mail for more than 20 years,” said andrea chiapella, communications and legislative director for the oregon secretary of state. “We don’t have a ballot box, but I could go to my county elections office and vote my ballot using a private booth if I wanted.”
pennsylvania
according to the pennsylvania department of state: “if you did not return your ballot by mail or absentee ballot and want to vote in person, you have two options: take your ballot and the pre-addressed outer return envelope to your polling place to be voided. after you return your ballot and envelope and sign a declaration, you may vote a regular ballot. if you do not return your ballot and return envelope, you may only vote a provisional ballot at your polling place. the board of elections Your county will then verify that you did not vote by mail before counting your provisional ballot.”
rhode island
You should expect to cast a provisional vote.
south carolina
according to the south carolina election commission, “you must first return your unvoted absentee ballot to the county voter registration office or extension office before voting in person.”
south dakota
voters are instructed not to vote the ballot they received in the mail and can visit their county auditor until November 2 or vote at their polling place on election day,” said rachel soulek, specialist in south dakota public information. Secretary of State’s office. “They don’t need to bring the ballot with them. they should destroy the ballot.”
Tennessee
you should expect to cast a provisional vote. “If a person submits an application for a ballot by mail, the person should have voted and returned that ballot by mail before Election Day,” said Julia Bruck, director of communications for the Tennessee Secretary of State. “However, if there is a problem with someone not receiving their ballot in time to cast the ballot by mail, there is a safe harbor for voters. the person may vote a provisional ballot. the provisional ballot will only be counted if the mail-in ballot has not been received or counted.”
texas
You can take your mail-in ballot to the polling place or early voting site, drop it off, and then vote a regular ballot. If you don’t have your mail-in ballot when you go to the polls, you can cast a provisional ballot.
utah
all active registered voters automatically received ballots in the mail. According to the Utah Elections Office: “If you receive a ballot in the mail but prefer to vote in person, bring your mail-in ballot to the polling place to ‘turn it in’ when you vote. while this is not required, it helps local election officials process ballots more efficiently.”
vermont
Depending on the electoral division, if you decide to vote in person “you must bring your ballot with you. however, if you do not, you will be allowed to vote if you complete an affidavit stating that you have not yet voted.”
virginia
according to the elections department: “if you have requested or received an absentee ballot by mail but prefer to vote in person, please bring your unopened ballot with you when you go to vote. If you lost or did not receive your ballot, you can vote early in person at your registrar’s office or cast a provisional ballot at your polling place on Election Day.”
washington
washington conducts all elections by mail, but you can still vote in person at your nearest polling place.
west virginia
If you take your mail-in ballot to the polls and it is spoiled, you can vote a regular ballot. if you do not return the ballot by mail, you must cast a provisional ballot.
wisconsin
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“voters who have received an absentee ballot will have their name watermarked in the poll book indicating an absentee ballot has been cast, prompting poll workers to ask them if they have already returned their absentee ballot. as long as the answer is no, the voter can vote. if the voter has already returned their ballot, that will also be noted in the poll book and poll workers will not cast a new ballot,” said reid magney, public information officer for the wisconsin election commission.
wyoming
“Ideally, the voter would return their absentee ballot at the time they showed up at the polling place,” said Monique Meese, director of communications and policy for the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office. “However, if they do not bring their absentee ballot, a provisional ballot will be provided and they will be allowed to vote. Before counting that provisional ballot, a clerk would make sure the absentee ballot has not been returned. Essentially, the first ballot received into the system is the ballot that is counted, and requesting an absentee ballot does not prevent you from changing your mind and voting in person.”