Worried about your mail ballot? Election officials work hard to keep them secure!

Election administrators secure mail ballots in many ways before, during, and after Election Day. Whether called absentee or voting by mail, election administrators have safeguards to enable voters to vote safely and securely.

Before sending out mail ballots, election administrators regularly maintain voter registration lists to ensure only eligible citizens can vote. Records are removed if a voter has moved or passed away. Individuals are added to the voter registration lists only after receipt of valid proof of eligibility which is set in state and federal laws. Mail ballots can only be sent to voters whose information is verified.

In states where voters request a mail ballot, careful identity verification limits who can request a ballot. After the mail ballot is sent to the verified voter, tracking systems are available in nearly all jurisdictions. Voters can use a unique code to see how their ballot is being moved as the USPS delivers it for processing, like tracking packages being delivered. Then there is careful scrutiny of the mail ballot after it has been returned to the election office. Election officials verify the ballot by comparing information provided on the mail ballot’s security envelope with information on voter lists including signatures, birthdates, ID numbers, and other items according to state law.

If there is any question after a mail ballot is received by election officials, there are ways the voter can prove their eligibility, often called ‘curing’ their ballot. Voter list information and ballot-tracking systems are again vital to contacting voters to safeguard their right to vote and confirming their mail ballot eligibility with careful checks.

These and other safeguards illustrate how mail ballots are a secure way to vote across the United States.

For additional information:

• Movement Advancement Project, “Ballot Tracking for Mail Voting”
• National Conference of State Legislatures, “Applying for an Absentee Ballot, Including Third-Party Registration Drives”
• National Conference of State Legislatures, “States With Mostly-Mail Elections”
• National Conference of State Legislatures, “Voting Outside the Polling Place: Absentee, All-Mail and Other Voting at Home Options”
• Vote.gov, “Absentee voting and voting by mail”
• U.S. Vote Foundation, “Where’s my Ballot? Check your State’s Ballot Tracker”
• Voting Rights Lab, “Returning, Verifying, and Curing Mail Ballots”