Editing Postal voting (section)

===United States===
[[File:No-excuse postal voting map of the US.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|No-excuse postal voting.<ref name=ballotpedia>[https://ballotpedia.org/Absentee/mail-in_voting Absentee/mail-in voting]. [[Ballotpedia]]. Select a state in the right sidebar menu for detailed info.</ref><ref name=DC-elections>[https://www.dcboe.org/Voters/Casting-Your-Vote/Request-an-Absentee-Ballot Request a Mail Ballot]. [[District of Columbia Board of Elections]].</ref><ref name=map>[https://www.mapresearch.org/democracy-maps/absentee_requirements Democracy Maps. Availability of No-Excuse Absentee Voting]. MAP (Movement Advancement Project). Note asterisk on map next to NY. Below map it says: "Note: New York has enacted legislation to allow no-excuse absentee voting beginning in 2024. Our map will be updated once the law takes effect."</ref>
{{legend|#2b83ba|All-mail voting}}
{{legend|#89CC7F|No-excuse absentee voting}}
{{legend|#FECDAC|Excuse-needed absentee voting}}]]
[[File:Gavin Newsom speaks about mail-in ballot election in California - 2020.ogg|thumb|California Governor [[Gavin Newsom]] speaking about his decision to sign an [[State executive order|executive order]] which would have every registered voter in California mailed a ballot]]
{{Main|Postal voting in the United States}}
In the United States, postal voting (commonly referred to as '''mail-in voting''',  '''vote-by-mail''' or '''vote from home'''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/janfeb-2016/vote-from-home-save-your-country/|title=Vote from Home, Save Your Country|date=2016-01-10|work=Washington Monthly|access-date=2018-11-24|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124234909/https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/janfeb-2016/vote-from-home-save-your-country/|url-status=live}}</ref>) is a process in which a [[ballot]] is mailed to the home of a registered voter, who fills it out and returns it via postal mail or by dropping it off in-person at a voting center or into a secure drop box. Deadlines are set under state law, with some states requiring ballots be received by election day and others allowing ballots to be received after election day so long as they are [[postmark]]ed by election day.<ref name="ncls-date">{{Cite web |title=VOPP: Table 11: Receipt and Postmark Deadlines for Absentee Ballots |url=https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-11-receipt-and-postmark-deadlines-for-absentee-ballots.aspx |access-date=2020-06-13 |website=www.ncsl.org |archive-date=2020-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210021836/https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-11-receipt-and-postmark-deadlines-for-absentee-ballots.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Vote-by-mail is available in both Republican and Democratic states,<ref name=":12" /> with research showing that the availability of postal voting increases voter turnout.<ref name="Thompson-Wu"/><ref name=":12"/><ref name=":0"/> Five states—[[Colorado]], [[Hawaii]], [[Oregon]], [[Utah]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]]—hold elections almost entirely by mail.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wise|first=Justin|date=2020-07-30|title=FEC commissioner to Trump: 'No. You don't have the power to move the election'|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/509764-fec-commissioner-to-trump-no-you-dont-have-the-power-to-move-the-election|access-date=2020-11-01|website=TheHill|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113143731/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/509764-fec-commissioner-to-trump-no-you-dont-have-the-power-to-move-the-election|url-status=live}}</ref>

It has been argued that postal voting has a greater risk of fraud than in-person voting, though there are few known instances of such fraud.<ref name="nprav">{{Cite news |last=Young |first=Ashley |date=2016-09-23 |title=A Complete Guide To Early And Absentee Voting |language=en |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/09/23/491999689/a-complete-guide-to-early-and-absentee-voting |access-date=2020-06-15 |archive-date=2020-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201205733/https://www.npr.org/2016/09/23/491999689/a-complete-guide-to-early-and-absentee-voting |url-status=live }}</ref>
Mail-in ballots pose other challenges, including signature verification,<ref name="stan">{{Cite web|date=15 April 2020|title=Signature Verification and Mail Ballots: Guaranteeing Access While Preserving Integrity|url=https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SLS_Signature_Verification_Report-5-15-20-FINAL.pdf|access-date=12 November 2020|website=Stanford University|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101040623/https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SLS_Signature_Verification_Report-5-15-20-FINAL.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> prompt delivery of ballots,<ref name="nyt-wi">{{Cite news |last1=Corasaniti |first1=Nick |last2=Saul |first2=Stephanie |date=2020-04-09 |title=Inside Wisconsin's Election Mess: Thousands of Missing or Nullified Ballots |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/politics/wisconsin-election-absentee-coronavirus.html |access-date=2020-06-12 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2020-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210075904/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/politics/wisconsin-election-absentee-coronavirus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and issues that have led to evidence suggesting younger voters, as well as voters from racial and ethnic minorities, are more likely to have their vote-by-mail ballots rejected.<ref name="aclu">{{Cite web |title=Vote-By-Mail Ballots Cast in Florida |url=https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/aclufl_-_vote_by_mail_-_report.pdf |last=Smith |first=Daniel |date=2018-09-18 |website=ACLU-Florida |access-date=2020-06-01 |archive-date=2020-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202043232/https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/aclufl_-_vote_by_mail_-_report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[United States presidential election, 2016|2016 general election]], approximately 33 million postal ballots were cast, about a quarter of all ballots cast.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Corse|first1=Alexa|last2=McMillan|first2=Robert|date=23 May 2020|title=Voting by Mail in November? States Need to Prepare Now|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/voting-by-mail-in-november-states-need-to-prepare-now-11590238800|access-date=2020-06-02|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=2020-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602021032/https://www.wsj.com/articles/voting-by-mail-in-november-states-need-to-prepare-now-11590238800|url-status=live}}</ref> Some jurisdictions used only vote-by-mail and others used absentee voting by mail.

In April 2020, during lockdowns for the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]], an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 58% of those polled would favor nationwide election reform to allow everyone to vote by mail.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/decision-2020/two-thirds-of-voters-back-vote-by-mail-in-november-2020/2355107/|title=Two-Thirds of Voters Back Vote-by-Mail in November 2020|website=NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth|date=21 April 2020|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-22|archive-date=2020-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129124418/https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/decision-2020/two-thirds-of-voters-back-vote-by-mail-in-november-2020/2355107/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[United States presidential election, 2020|November 2020 presidential election]], postal voting was an encouraged voting method in many locations due to the coronavirus pandemic. A poll by Pew Research Center found that 54% of people voted in person in the 2020 election compared to 46% who voted absentee or mail in.<ref>[https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/11/20/the-voting-experience-in-2020/ Sharp Divisions on Vote Counts, as Biden Gets High Marks for His Post-Election Conduct], Pew Research Center, November 20, 2020</ref> Despite the long history of postal voting and a large number of postal votes in the 2016 election, President [[Donald Trump]] has cast doubt on the integrity of unsolicited mail-in voting in the 2020 election. There is little evidence to support Trump's claim that postal voting enables widespread election fraud.<ref name="Donald Trump suggests delay to 2020 US presidential election">{{cite news|date=2020-07-30|title=Donald Trump suggests delay to 2020 US presidential election|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53597975|accessdate=2020-07-31}}</ref>

Following [[Big Lie#Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election|false claim]] of widespread voter fraud in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]], [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] state lawmakers began an effort to roll back access to postal voting.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wines|first=Michael|date=27 February 2021|title=In Statehouses, Stolen-Election Myth Fuels a G.O.P. Drive to Rewrite Rules|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/us/republican-voter-suppression.html|url-status=live|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=17 March 2021|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304192706/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/us/republican-voter-suppression.html}}</ref>