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This table is part of the ncsl polling away report.
Absentee/mail-in ballots are generally returned by mail or hand-delivery, and the most common deadline to return absentee/mail-in ballots by any method is before the polls close on election day.
No states allow hand-delivered ballots to be returned after Election Day, but five require hand-delivered ballots to be received before Election Day: Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Vermont .
Thirty states require that absentee/mail-in ballots returned by mail be received on or before Election Day. Nineteen states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C., however, will accept and count a mail-in ballot if it is received after Election Day but postmarked on or before Election Day (sometimes just before). . Because what constitutes a postmark is changing and less mail is receiving a true postmark, many states will accept an Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) as evidence.
The table below shows which states require that mail-in ballots be received by Election Day or postmarked by Election Day and provides deadline details for each state.
Note: This table does not include receipt and postmark deadlines for voters subject to the Uniform Absentee Voting Act and Overseas Citizens, which may differ from the deadlines for domestic absentee voters.
status
election day mail receipt
Postmarked by Election Day
Absentee/Mail Vote Deadline Details
alabama
wing. code § 17-11-18
x
must be received by noon on Election Day.
alaska
such as § 15.20.081(e) and (h)
x
must be received within 10 days if postmarked on or before Election Day.
arizona
a.r.s. 16-548
x
must be received by 7 p.m. m. on election day.
arkansas
a.c.a. § 7-5-411
x
must be received by 7:30 p.m. m. on election day. hand-delivered ballots must be received at the county clerk’s office by close of business on the Friday before Election Day.
california
west’s ann.cal.elec.code § 3020
x
must be received no later than seven days after Election Day.
red
c.r.s. § 1-7.5-107
x
must be received by 7 p.m. m. on election day.
connecticut
with. gene 45-9-140b stat
x
must be received by the close of polls on Election Day. Hand-delivered ballots must be received the day before an election if delivered by the voter and by the close of polls on Election Day if delivered by a designated agent.
delaware
del. ann code § 15-55-5508
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
district of colombia
dc st § 1-1001.05(a)(10a)
x
must be received within seven days of the election if postmarked on or before election day.
florida
f.s.a. western §101.67
x
must be received by 7 p.m. m. on election day.
georgia
ga. ann. code, § 21-2-386(f)
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
hawaii
hrs § 11-104
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
idaho
i.c. § 34-1005
x
must be received by 8:00 p.m. m. on election day.
illinois
10 ilcs 5/19-8, 10 ilcs 5/18a-15
x
must be received within 14 days of the election if postmarked on or before election day.
indian
ic 3-11.5-4-7
x
must be received by noon on Election Day.
iowa
iowa code § 53.17(2)
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
kansas
k.s.a. 25-1132
x
must be received within three days after the election if postmarked by close of polls on election day.
kentucky
ky. Rev. statistic 117,086
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
Louisiana
lsa-r.s. 18:1311
All absentee ballots, regardless of return method, must be received the day before the election.
main
me. Rev. ana statistic 21-a § 755
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
maryland
md code, election law, § 9-309, board of elections
x
must be received within 10 days if postmarked on or before Election Day.
massachusetts
m.g.l.a. 54 § 93
must be received by 5 p.m. m. by the third day after the election if postmarked on or before election day.
michigan
mich. draft laws 168.764a
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
minnesota
min. statistic 203b.08
x
must be received by the close of polls on Election Day. hand-delivered ballots must be received by 3 p.m. on election day.
mississippi
Miss. ann code § 23-15-637
x
must be received within five business days after the election if postmarked on or before election day.
Missouri
month rvdo. stat 115,293
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
mountain
month. ann code 13-13-232
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
nebraska
neb.rev.st. § 32-950
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
snowfall
n.r.s. ab 321, § 8
x
must be received by 5 p.m. m. the fourth day after the election if the postmark is on election day. unclearly postmarked ballots received by the third day after the election will be considered postmarked on or before election day.
new hampshire
nh rev stat § 657:22
x
must be received by 5 p.m. m. on election day.
new jersey
n.j.s.a. 19:63-22
x
must be received within 144 hours (6 days) after polls close if postmarked on or before Election Day. unpostmarked mail-in ballots that arrive within 48 hours of polls closing will be considered valid.
new mexico
n.m. ana statistic 1-6-10(b)
x
must be received by 7 p.m. m. on election day.
new york
mckinney election law § 8-412
x
must be received within seven days of the election if postmarked before election day.
north carolina
n.c. gene statistics § 163a-1310
x
must be received within three days after the election if postmarked on or before election day.
north dakota
ndcc 16.1-07-09, 16.1-15-25
x
must be received before the canvass (which takes place before 4:00 pm on the eighth day after the election) if it is postmarked the day before election day. hand-delivered ballots must be received by 5 p.m. m. the day before election day.
ohio
r.c. § 3509.05
x
must be received within ten days after the election if postmarked by the day before election day.
oklahoma
26 okl.st.ann. § 14-104
x
must be received by 7 p.m. m. on election day.
oregon
o. Rev. statistics §253.070
x
must be received within seven days of the election if postmarked on or before election day.
pennsylvania
25 p.d. § 3146.8
x
must be received by 8:00 p.m. m. on election day.
Puerto Rico
16 l.p.r.a. § article 9.36.-
rhode island
general laws of 1956, § 17-20-8
x
must be received by 8:00 p.m. m. on election day.
south carolina
sc code § 7-15-420
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
south dakota
n.d. codified laws ann. 12-19-12
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
tennessee
code lieutenant ann. 2-6-304
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.
texas
texas election code § 86.007
x
must be received by 5 p.m. m. the day after the election if postmarked on or before election day.
utah
utah code ann. § 20a-3a-204
x
must be received no later than noon on official canvass day (which occurs seven to 14 days after the election) if postmarked the day before election day.
vermont
title 17 of the vermont statutes. elections, § 2543
x
must be received by the close of polls on Election Day. ballots hand-delivered to a drop box or city clerk’s office must be received by close of business the day before the election; ballots delivered in person to the voter’s polling place must be received by the close of polls on Election Day.
virgin islands
18 c.i.c. §665
virginia
goes. code 24.2-709
x
must be received no later than noon of the third day after the election if postmarked by election day.
washington
west rcwa 29a.40.091
x
ballots received after the election postmarked by Election Day are counted; receipt deadline not specified.
west virginia
w. Virginia. code, § 3-3-5, § 3-5-17
x
must be received before the canvass (which begins the fifth day after the election) if postmarked on or before election day.
wisconsin
wisdom. statistic 6.87(6)
x
must be received by 8:00 p.m. m. on election day.
wyoming
wo. statistic 22-9-119
x
must be received before polls close on Election Day.