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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, cracking down on mail-in voting in elections across the country and requiring the secretary of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to compile a list of U.S. citizens eligible to vote.The order, which also puts restrictions on shipping of ballots by the U.S. Postal Service and adds barcode tracking security to envelopes, is Trump’s latest swing at a system he has claimed is rigged and riddled with fraud, despite a lack of widespread evidence.Still, Trump himself used a mail-in ballot as recently as this year, requesting one to vote in a Florida State House election in March — even as he was at his Mar-a-Lago estate while in-person voting was being conducted.The Get the Facts Data Team analyzed the status of vote-by-mail in states across the United States.Who allows voting by mail?Every U.S. state allows some level of mail-in voting or absentee ballots, permitting a person to cast their vote without ever setting foot in a polling location. The differences often come down to general elections versus smaller elections and whether the mail-in ballot process is automatic – known as “universal mail” or “all-mail” voting.Currently, eight states — California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington, plus Washington, D.C., automatically send ballots in the mail to eligible voters before an election. In 28 other states, voters can request to vote-by-mail without providing a reason. The remaining 14 states, including Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina, require a reason for the request. Mail ballot popularityAs many as one-in-three votes cast in the 2024 general election were cast by mail, according to States United, with mail ballots especially popular among Americans 65 and older and Democratic voters. That’s compared to roughly one-in-four votes in the 2016 general and 2018 midterm elections.Voting by mail spiked in popularity during the 2020 election, nearly doubling from the previous election, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The preference has remained higher than pre-pandemic levels.While voting methods have experienced significant change, national voter turnout has largely remained consistent over the past decade when comparing general elections and midterm elections.How does your state vote?Washington state and Oregon top the list when it comes to adoption of mail-in voting. Both states exceeded 95% of votes cast by mail in the most recent general and midterm elections.Click on your state in the map below to see the percentage of votes cast by mail in each election over the past decade.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, cracking down on mail-in voting in elections across the country and requiring the secretary of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to compile a list of U.S. citizens eligible to vote.
The order, which also puts restrictions on shipping of ballots by the U.S. Postal Service and adds barcode tracking security to envelopes, is Trump’s latest swing at a system he has claimed is rigged and riddled with fraud, despite a lack of widespread evidence.
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Still, Trump himself used a mail-in ballot as recently as this year, requesting one to vote in a Florida State House election in March — even as he was at his Mar-a-Lago estate while in-person voting was being conducted.
The Get the Facts Data Team analyzed the status of vote-by-mail in states across the United States.
Who allows voting by mail?
Every U.S. state allows some level of mail-in voting or absentee ballots, permitting a person to cast their vote without ever setting foot in a polling location.
The differences often come down to general elections versus smaller elections and whether the mail-in ballot process is automatic – known as “universal mail” or “all-mail” voting.
Currently, eight states — California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington, plus Washington, D.C., automatically send ballots in the mail to eligible voters before an election.
In 28 other states, voters can request to vote-by-mail without providing a reason. The remaining 14 states, including Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina, require a reason for the request.
Mail ballot popularity
As many as one-in-three votes cast in the 2024 general election were cast by mail, according to States United, with mail ballots especially popular among Americans 65 and older and Democratic voters. That’s compared to roughly one-in-four votes in the 2016 general and 2018 midterm elections.
Voting by mail spiked in popularity during the 2020 election, nearly doubling from the previous election, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The preference has remained higher than pre-pandemic levels.
While voting methods have experienced significant change, national voter turnout has largely remained consistent over the past decade when comparing general elections and midterm elections.
How does your state vote?
Washington state and Oregon top the list when it comes to adoption of mail-in voting. Both states exceeded 95% of votes cast by mail in the most recent general and midterm elections.
Click on your state in the map below to see the percentage of votes cast by mail in each election over the past decade.
