(NewsNation) — You made your choices, filled out your ballot and got your "I Voted" sticker. How do you know if your vote was actually counted?
Depending on how you voted – in person, by dropping a ballot in a drop box, or sending it off by mail – and which state you live in, your vote may be counted in a different way and on a different timeline.
If you voted in person, your vote is oftentimes recorded right in front of you on an electronic machine or with a paper ballot reader. However, in some states, there's an extra hand count that's required after. Arizona now requires polling locations to hand count some of the ballots cast before reporting results this election cycle, PBS reports.
If you vote by mail or by dropping off your ballot, you can also track when it's counted in many cases. Vote.org has a state-by-state list of how you can track your ballot's status, from when it's mailed out to when it's received and tabulated.
Some states even offer the option to get text notifications. California, for example, will update you by text or email as your ballot moves through the election process.
Dating back to the Civil War, mail-in voting has been an institution of U.S. elections. The frequency of mail-in voting increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every state allows mail-in voting, but the degree to which varies.
All-mail elections occur predominantly on the West Coast. This means constituents will receive a ballot at their residence and can mail in their ballots, or vote in person.
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington all allow mail voting under all circumstances. The only other state in the nation to have such practices is Vermont. Washington, D.C. also allows all-mail voting.
Twenty-eight states have a no-excuse absentee policy, meaning voters don't need to explain themselves to receive a mail-in ballot.
These include Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
All states allow absentee voting, but a worthy excuse must be provided in the following states:
Alabama: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiver, working during voting hours, student living outside of the county, election worker, incarcerated (not convicted of "moral turpitude"), aged 65+, caregiver, military service, religious beliefs/practice.
Arkansas: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiver, uniformed services member.
Connecticut: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiver, election worker, armed forces member, religious beliefs/practice.
Delaware: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiver, working during voting hours, religious beliefs/practice, armed forces member.
Indiana: Illness/disability, caregiver, out of the county, work, religious reasons, aged 65+, election worker, armed forces or public safety officer, "serious sex offender", state address confidentiality program.
Kentucky: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiver, state address confidentiality program, elderly age.
Louisiana: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiver, state address confidentiality program, elderly age, military forces, aged 65+, involuntary confinement, incarceration, jury duty, religious practices.
Mississippi: Out of county, illness/disability, aged 65+, work, caregivers, incarceration for a non-disenfranchising crime.
Missouri: Out of county, illness/disability, religious beliefs/practices, election worker, essential worker, incarceration, state address confidentiality program.
New Hampshire: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiving, work, religious beliefs/practices, incarceration, state address confidentiality program, protected by domestic violence protective order.
South Carolina: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiving, work, aged 65+, incarceration, armed forces.
Tennessee: Out of county, illness/disability, caregiving, work, aged 60+, reside in a nursing home, religious beliefs/practices, election worker, jury duty, military member.
Texas: Out of county, illness/disability, work, expectant within three weeks before or after Election Day, incarceration.
West Virginia: Out of county, illness/disability, work, state address confidentiality program, incarceration, first responder.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in 31 states voters must sign an affidavit on their ballot envelope which helps ballot workers verify their signature against their voter registration record.
Ten states require a copy of personal identification or the ballot to be notarized or have a witness signature — Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Ten other states — Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming — plus Washington, D.C., verify that a signature is on an absentee, but do not verify the signature itself.
