How to check if your mail-in ballot has been received and counted

If your mail-in ballot is cast, but no one is around to count it, did it make a sound?

The U.S. presidential election is fast approaching, and people keep telling you this is the most important election in a generation. The coronavirus, of course, means that when it comes to safely casting your vote this election is also one of the most unusual. Thankfully, large swaths of the country (but sadly not all) have a simple way to confirm that their residents' mail-in ballots have been received and counted.

In previous elections, the ability to check on the status of one's mail-in ballot might have seemed like a neat little democracy bonus feature. This year, with the president spreading misinformation about the vote-by-mail process, and questionable goings on at the United States Postal Service, checking that your vote was received feels more like a requirement.

Notably, every state has a different voting process. This is considered a plus by some experts as it makes the entire election process more resistant to fraud, hackers, or various meddling at scale. It also means, for example, that Californians have a different process to check their ballots than New Yorkers.

Below you'll find the links you'll need to check in on your ballot and track its status — assuming your state even allows that in the first place. It should go without saying, but all the information assumes you are both eligible to vote and have registered to do so. Oh yeah, and that you request the ballot before the state-specific deadline. As of the time of this writing, some states will still allow you to request an absentee ballot, but for others the deadline has already passed.

To check on the status of your ballot, click the link for the state in which you're registered. If your state supports it, the link will explain how to check on your ballot. Otherwise, the link will take you to your state's elections page which will explain how to reach out to local election officials with any questions you may have.

There's also a littler reminder by each state about its particular deadline, because in this country a late ballot decidedly does not make a sound.

(UPDATE: Oct. 28, 2020, 12:06 p.m. PDT: As of Oct. 28, officials recommend against returning your mail-in ballot via the USPS. Instead, if you are able, the recommendation is now to return it directly to an official ballot drop-off location yourself. This will ensure that your ballot is received ahead of your state's deadline.)

• Alabama — Anyone can vote by mail in Alabama, but you have to request a ballot. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 2.
• Alaska — Anyone can vote by mail in Alaska, but you have to request a ballot. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Arizona — Voters in Arizona were mailed applications, but not automatically mailed ballots. Your ballot must be received by Nov. 3.
• Arkansas — Anyone can vote by mail in Arkansas, but you have to request a ballot. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• California — Anyone can vote by mail in California. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Colorado — Anyone can vote by mail in Colorado. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Connecticut — Voters in Connecticut were mailed applications, but not automatically mailed ballots. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Delaware — Voters in Delaware were mailed applications, but not automatically mailed ballots. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Florida — Anyone can vote by mail in Florida, but you had to request the ballot by Oct. 24. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Georgia — Anyone can vote by mail in Georgia, but you have to request the ballot by Oct. 30. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Hawaii — Voters in Hawaii were automatically mailed ballots. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Idaho — Anyone can vote by mail in Idaho, but you had to request the ballot by Oct. 23. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Illinois — Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Indiana — Not everyone can vote by mail in Indiana. If you can, your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Iowa — Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 2.
• Kansas — You have to request a ballot by Oct. 27 to vote by mail in Kansas. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Kentucky — You had to request a ballot to vote by mail in Kentucky. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Louisiana — Not everyone can vote by mail in Louisiana and the deadline to apply is Oct. 30. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 2.
• Maine — You have to request a ballot to vote by mail in Maine by Oct. 29. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Maryland — Voters in Maryland were mailed applications. If you applied, and are voting by mail, your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Massachusetts — Voters in Massachusetts were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Michigan — You have to request a ballot to vote by mail in Michigan. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Minnesota — Voters were mailed applications. (UPDATE: Oct. 30, 2020, 9:21 a.m. PDT: Election officials issued the following warning: "It is too late to rely on mail service to return absentee ballots in time — we recommend ballots be dropped off in person to the election office that sent your ballot." In addition, as theStar Tribunereports, a federal court ruled that any mail-in ballot received after 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 3 must be set aside in anticipation of a GOP-led legal effort to invalidate them. The Minnesota Secretary of State provides voters with the following instruction for returning your ballot: "You can return your ballot in person no later than 3 p.m. on Election Day to the election office that sent your ballot." It also cautions the following: "You may not drop your ballot off at your polling place on election day.")
• Mississippi — You have to apply to vote by mail, and not everyone is allowed to do so. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Missouri — You have to request a ballot to vote by mail Missouri. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Montana — You have to request a ballot. Your ballot must be received by Nov. 3.
• Nebraska — Voters in Nebraska were mailed applications. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Nevada — Ballots were mailed to "active" voters in Nevada. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• New Hampshire — You need to request a ballot in New Hampshire. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• New Jersey — Ballots were sent to "active" voters. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• New Mexico — You have to have requested a ballot in New Mexico. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• New York — You need to request a ballot in New York. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• North Carolina — You need to request a ballot in North Carolina. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• North Dakota — You need to request a ballot in North Dakota. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 2.
• Ohio — Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 2.
• Oklahoma — You need to request a ballot in Oklahoma. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Oregon — All voters were mailed ballots. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Pennsylvania — You need to request a ballot in Pennsylvania. (UPDATE: Oct. 30, 2020, 9:21 a.m. PDT: State election officials now advise returning your ballot in person. "Voters who have not yet cast their mail or absentee ballot are urged to hand-deliver their voted ballots as soon as possible to their county election office or other county drop off location or drop box," reads the warning from the Pennsylvania Department of State. "Ballots must be delivered by 8pm on Election Day but the sooner the better." Notably, the DoS cautions that "[you] must return your voted ballot to a location in the county that issued your mail ballot.")
• Puerto Rico — You have to request a ballot in Puerto Rico, and not everyone is allowed to vote by mail. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3. Notably, Puerto Rico doesn't get any Electoral College votes, even though it is part of the United States.
• Rhode Island — Voters were mailed applications. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• South Carolina — You have to request a ballot in South Carolina. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• South Dakota — Voters in South Dakota need to request a ballot. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Tennessee — Voters in Tennessee need to request a ballot by Oct. 27, but not everyone can vote by mail. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Texas — You had to request a ballot in Texas by Oct. 23, and even then not everyone got one. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 4.
• Utah — Voters in Utah were sent ballots. Your ballot has to be postmarked by Nov. 2.
• Vermont — Voters in Vermont were sent ballots. The Vermont Secretary of State says the following about return deadlines: "All ballots must be returned to the town clerk's office before the close of the office on the day before the election, or to the polling place before 7 p.m. on the day of the election, in order to be counted."
• Virginia — Voters in Virginia need to request a ballot. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Washington — Voters in Washington were sent ballots. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Washington, D.C. — Voters were sent ballots in D.C. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• West Virginia — Voters in West Virginia need to request a ballot. Your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Wisconsin — Voters in Wisconsin were mailed applications. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.
• Wyoming — Voters in Wisconsin need to request a ballot. Your ballot has to be received by Nov. 3.

Related Video: How to vote in the 2020 presidential election

This story was originally published on Oct. 24 and updated on Oct. 30.