# Mail-in, Absentee Voting
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mail-in-absentee-voting/39449
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 2, 2000, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mail-in-absentee-voting/39449 "2000-11-02T20:56:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mooney252](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooney252)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mail-in-absentee-voting/39449/1 "2000-11-02T20:56:01Z")
This is the opposite of the “undecided” question:
What are the percentages for absentee and mail-in votes cast across the country? How many are cast by Election Day? In the past, I’ve lived in locales where absentee and mail votes weren’t counted UNLESS they could make a difference in a race. Is this still a practice or has the number of vote-by-mail ballots changed the law?
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### Author:  [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2000, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mail-in-absentee-voting/39449/2 "2000-11-04T12:24:46Z")
I don’t know the answers to most of your questions, but as for the one about how many are cast by election day… Well, I guess all the ones that are going to be counted are. Assuming you’ve applied for one with plenty of time – I applied in July – absentee ballots are sent out about 5 weeks in advance of the general election, with specific instructions that they should be posted back ASAP. However, confusingly, I think the instructions also state that the ballots must be postmarked no later than the date of the election day. If I posted mine so that it would be stamped with the election date on it, it would probably arrive in the States between one and two weeks after the election. I don’t see how it could be counted then. Anyway, I posted my absentee ballot back 4 weeks ago and I sure hope it’s counted!