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Table 7: When States Mail Out Absentee [1]

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Date: 2026-09 

After a voter has applied for an absentee/mail ballot and that application has been verified, election officials mail out the ballots. In general, states begin mailing absentee/mail ballots during one of four different time frames, as noted below (note that a few states do not specify start dates for mailing ballots).

As absentee ballot applications come in, election officials continue mailing out ballots throughout the run-up to the election, either for a designated period or right up until Election Day.

Ten states begin mailing ballots to voters more than 45 days before the election: Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania*, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Ten states begin mailing ballots to voters 45 days before the election: Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.

Thirteen states begin mailing ballots to voters 30-45 days before the election: Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina and Vermont.

Fifteen states begin mailing ballots to voters fewer than 30 days before the election: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Note that in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Washington D.C., all voters are mailed ballots.

*Ballots cannot be sent until the content of the ballot is legally certified.

Ballots for Military and Overseas Voters (UOCAVA) are sent our 45 days before an election. The table below shows when election officials can being mailing out domestic absentee/mail ballots in each state.

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[1] Url: https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-7-when-states-mail-out-absentee-mail-ballots

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