eac.gov Voting By Mail/ Absentee Voting : U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Organisation : The U.S. Election Assistance Commission
Facility Name :  Voting By Mail/ Absentee Voting
Country : USA United States of America
Website : https://www.eac.gov/

EAC Vote By Mail

More voters are using mail ballots across the country and the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need to explore options to increase vote by mail opportunities. Voting by Mail/Absentee Voting is also essential part of the elections process for citizens away from home, such as our military and overseas voters.

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The Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) and the United States Postal Service (USPS) continue to work together to ensure the entire voting by mail/absentee voting process works smoothly and efficiently.

Below are COVID-19 specific resources and other resources to help election officials identify procedures, strategies, and policies for ensuring mail ballots get cast and counted, and all election-related materials that help citizens cast these ballots are delivered in a timely manner.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has already impacted primary elections, and some election officials are considering increasing vote by mail options for upcoming primaries and the general election. On March 20, 2020, EAC Chairman Ben Hovland moderated a discussion with state and county election officials about factors officials should consider for increased vote by mail.

Officials discussed their experiences with vote by mail, and their thoughts about timelines, staffing, facilities, vendors, working with the U.S. Postal Service, and other considerations.

Timeline

This vote by mail timeline is a joint product of the Government Coordinating Council and the Sector Coordinating Council. This timeline is meant to help state and local officials determine where they are in the process of expanding vote by mail in their state or community, what needs to be done, and what is on the critical path vs. not.

Note:
This vote by mail/ absentee voting timeline is a joint product of the Government Coordinating Council and the Sector Coordinating Council. This timeline is meant to help state and local officials determine where they are in the process of expanding vote by mail in their state or community, what needs to be done, and what is on the critical path vs. not.

A few things to know about the product:
** The dates are approximations that can’t take into account state laws or rules that dictate certain timeframes.
** This is not specific to full 100% vote by mail. These same tasks are required if you are simply increasing your vote by mail activity.
** The dates work backward from Election Day. This means -90 = 90 days until Election Day.
** The tasks are broken out by category and there will be corresponding FAQ’s created by each category to inform the tasks created in this timeline.

Contact

Please submit additional best practices and other vote-by-mail resources to Nichelle Williams at nwilliams@eac.gov.