Don't expect to have it on election night. Some states, including California, continue to count ballots postmarked on time that arrive after election day. Others can't even start counting mail-in ballots until election day.
It depends on which state you live in. Most allow either no excuse absentee voting or allow voters to cite COVID-19 as a reason. Five states — Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas — require a reason beyond the coronavirus to grant an absentee ballot, although that could change.
If you live in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington state or Washington, D.C., and are registered to vote, you should automatically receive a mail-in ballot. Otherwise, you can request one here at www.vote.org/absentee-ballot
It's complicated! Most states don’t count ballots unless they arrive by Election Day, although others count ballots that were postmarked by Election Day. To be safe, it's best to mail back your ballot as soon as possible or drop it off in person.
