Editing Postal voting (section)

{{Short description|Voting, election, ballot papers, distributed to electors or returned by post, mail}}
{{Redirect|Mail-in ballot|write-in ballot|Write-in candidate}}
[[File:Postal_Voting.png|thumb|class=notpageimage|upright=2|{{legend|#FF9B30| Postal voting available only for some/all citizens abroad}} {{legend|#F0E945 | Postal voting available for some/all citizens abroad, and for citizens at home meeting certain conditions}}{{legend|#66BC66| Postal voting available for all citizens on demand}} {{legend|#3054dE| No postal voting system in place}}]]
{{voting}}
[[File:Luxembourg Referendum 2015 Postal vote - ballot and other documents.jpg|thumb|Ballot and other documents for postal voting for the [[2015 Luxembourg constitutional referendum]]]]
'''Postal voting''' is [[voting]] in an [[election]] where [[ballot]] papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by [[Mail|post]], in contrast to electors voting in person at a [[polling place|polling station]] or electronically via an [[electronic voting]] system.

In an election, postal votes may be available on demand or limited to individuals meeting certain criteria, such as a proven inability to travel to a designated polling place. Most electors are required to apply for a postal vote, although some may receive one by default. In some elections postal voting is the only voting method allowed and is referred to as '''all-postal voting'''. With the exception of those elections, postal votes constitute a form of [[early voting]] and may be considered an [[absentee ballot]].

Typically, postal votes must be mailed back before the scheduled [[election day]]. However, in some jurisdictions return methods may allow for dropping off the ballot in person via secure [[Ballot box|drop boxes]] or at voting centers. Postal votes may be processed by hand or scanned and counted electronically. The history of postal voting dates back to the 19th century, and modern-day procedures and availability vary by jurisdiction. Research, focused on the United States and using data from states where postal voting is widely available—California, Oregon and Washington—shows that the availability of postal voting tends to increase voter turnout.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last1=Hill|first1=Charlotte|last2=Grumbach|first2=Jacob|last3=Bonica|first3=Adam|last4=Jefferson|first4=Hakeem|date=2020|title=We Should Never Have to Vote in Person Again|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/opinion/coronavirus-vote-by-mail.html|access-date=2020-05-17|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2020-12-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203202518/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/opinion/coronavirus-vote-by-mail.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=Wines|first=Michael|date=2020-05-25|title=Which Party Would Benefit Most From Voting by Mail? It's Complicated|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/us/vote-by-mail-coronavirus.html|access-date=2020-05-28|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2020-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211160914/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/us/vote-by-mail-coronavirus.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Thompson|first1=Daniel M.|last2=Wu|first2=Jennifer A.|last3=Yoder|first3=Jesse|last4=Hall|first4=Andrew B.|date=2020-06-09|title=Universal vote-by-mail has no impact on partisan turnout or vote share|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=117|issue=25|pages=14052–14056|doi=10.1073/pnas.2007249117|issn=0027-8424|pmc=7322007|pmid=32518108|bibcode=2020PNAS..11714052T |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Electoral laws typically stipulate a series of checks to protect against [[voter fraud]] and allow for the integrity and [[Secret ballot|secrecy]] of the submitted ballot to be maintained. Known instances of fraud are very rare.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Qvortrup|first=Matt|date=2005|title=First past the Postman: Voting by Mail in Comparative Perspective|journal=The Political Quarterly|language=en|volume=76|issue=3|pages=414–419|doi=10.1111/j.1467-923X.2005.00700.x|issn=1467-923X}}</ref> Coordinated, large-scale fraud by postal voting is likely hard to pull off undetected because the large number of interested parties (such as officials, political operators, and journalists) as well as a large number of scholars and analysts who are capable of detecting statistical outliers in vote totals signifying large-scale fraud.<ref name=":12"/> Officials can confirm instances of fraud by checking signatures and conducting basic detective work.<ref name=":12"/>