Best Practices
Take a look at our recommended best practices for vote-at-home systems.
No Application Required
No Application Required
The hallmark of a vote-at-home elections system is the automatic delivery of ballots without voters needing to apply or submit a request. Numerous studies show that voters with ballots in hand vote at materially higher levels than those who have to visit a physical polling location.
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Online Ballot Application or Request
Online Ballot Application or Request
Online voter registration and ballot request forms are an important step to dramatically lower administrative costs and increase accessibility. Creating a portal where a voter can register to vote, request an absentee ballot, update their address, and more...
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Ballot Tracking
Ballot Tracking
Ballot tracking allows voters to track their ballot like an Amazon package via an intelligent mail barcode and receive an electronic or phone notification when their ballot is sent to them, when it is arriving at their home, when it has been received back at the elections office, and when it has been accepted.
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No Excuse to Vote from Home
No Excuse to Vote from Home
As of 2022, 14 states still require voters to have an excuse in order to obtain a mailed-out ballot. These excuses range from age (65+), disability status, illness, religious beliefs, and more. At National Vote at Home Institute, we fundamentally believe that all voters should have equitable access to a mailed-out ballot.
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Ballot Return Options
Ballot Return Options
Providing voters multiple in-person ballot return options for mail ballots are an important part of expanding voting access. Ballot return options fall into three main categories: voting location drop off (i.e. a polling place or vote center), election office drop off, and drop box drop off.
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Preprocessing
Preprocessing
Preprocessing covers a variety of processes that prepare a mail ballot for counting. This typically includes scanning ballots into the system and marking them as “received,” verifying or checking for the presence of a signature, identifying any errors with a ballot that can be “cured” by the voter, and removing ballots from their envelopes in preparation for tabulation.
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Single Sign-Up
Single Sign-Up
Single sign-up, or a permanent absentee voter list, is when a voter can opt-in to automatically receive mail ballots for all future elections. Many states already have these lists for certain voters, like seniors or voters with disabilities. Some states provide single sign-up options that expire after one to two years.
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Prepaid Postage
Prepaid Postage
Prepaying postage for the return of mail ballots is an easy way the government can simplify the ballot return process and increase ballot return rates. Though states have approached funding ballot return postage a number of ways, ideally funding should come from the federal level.
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Signature Verification
Signature Verification
Signature verification increases voter trust by ensuring that all mail ballots were voted by the correct person. During this process, election officials compare the signature on a voter’s mail ballot return envelope to a signature in the voter’s registration record, most commonly collected at the time of registration, by the department of motor vehicles, or some other official governmental service transaction.
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Robust Cure Process
Robust Cure Process
A ballot cure process lowers rejection rates of mail ballots by allowing voters to correct certain issues with their ballots, like forgetting to sign the ballot return envelope or correcting their signature because it does not match the one on file in your registration record.
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Election Day Postmark Acceptance
Election Day Postmark Acceptance
Accepting ballots received after Election Day if they’re postmarked by Election Day can reduce rejection rates and increase voter confidence. Many states already have postmark acceptance for overseas and military voters, and should expand it to all voters.
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