Voting by Mail This Election Season? Make Sure It Counts
Filling out a ballot from your kitchen table and slipping it in the mail may not carry the same gravitas as heading to your polling station on Election Day, but it’s quick, convenient and beats hours spent standing in line.
This method of voting is particularly important for people with disabilities, illnesses or full-time caregiving responsibilities, or those who have to work on Election Day or may be traveling out of the area.
Absentee voting, mail-in voting or “vote at home” generally refer to the practice of letting voters send or drop off their ballots instead of completing this task at a polling place.
The popularity of voting by mail has almost tripled since 2000, according to a 2024 report by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab. It’s a more popular option among older voters than any other age group. Nearly 37 percent of those 65 and older chose this method in November 2024, according to Census Bureau data.
https://www.aarp.org/government-elections/vote-by-mail-what-to-know/