Voting policies in the United States

See also: Automatic voter registration

Under an automatic voter registration system, eligible voters are automatically registered to vote whenever they interact with certain government agencies, such as departments of motor vehicles. Eligible voters are registered by default, although they may request not to be registered.^[4][5]

See also: Ballot collection laws by state

Most states have laws that govern who may return a voter's absentee/mail-in ballot. These laws vary by state. Politicians and other groups have debated whether states should place restrictions on who may collect and return absentee/mail-in ballots. Terms used to refer to this topic include ballot harvesting, community ballot collection, ballot gathering, third-party possession of another's ballot, and ballot return.

Proponents of certain related restrictions may also use the term ballot harvesting to refer to other practices, such as filling out or submitting absentee/mail-in ballot applications for others.^[9][10]

See also: Early voting

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. Some states allow voters to cast absentee ballots in person. States that allow in-person absentee voting without an excuse are counted below among no-excuse early voting states.

See also: Electoral systems

The term electoral system can refer to the method by which elections are conducted (e.g., whether officials are elected in single-winner versus multi-winner systems) or the method by which votes are tallied to determine the outcome of an election (e.g., plurality systems, majority systems, ranked-choice voting systems, etc.). In the United States, most federal and state-level officials are elected via plurality vote in single-winner elections, although some jurisdictions (e.g., cities, school boards, etc.) employ alternative electoral systems.

See also: Online voter registration

Traditionally, paper-based systems have been used by the states to register voters. Under these systems, a prospective voter completes a paper form and submits it to election officials. Officials then review the registration and, if appropriate, approve it, adding the name of the voter to the state's voter registration rolls. In an online registration system, a voter fills out the form online and it is then submitted electronically to election officials. Proponents of online voter registration argue that such systems can lower costs and improve accessibility for voters. Some have raised concerns about the security of such systems in the wake of high-profile consumer data breaches.^[11]

As of April 2024, 42 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam allowed online voter registration.^[11]

Post-election audits check that election results tallied by a state's voting system match results from paper records, such as paper ballots filled out by voters or the paper records produced by electronic voting machines. Post-election audits are classified into two categories: audits of election results—which include traditional post-election audits as well as risk-limiting audits—and procedural audits.^[12][13]

Typically, traditional post-election audits are done by recounting a portion of ballots, either electronically or by hand, and comparing the results to those produced by the state's voting system. In contrast, risk-limiting audits use statistical methods to compare a random sample of votes cast to election results instead of reviewing every ballot. The scope of procedural audits varies by state, but they typically include a systematic review of voting equipment, performance of the voting system, vote totals, duties of election officials and workers, ballot chain of custody, and more.

Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia require some form of post-election audit by law. Of these, 35 states and the District of Columbia require traditional post-election audits, while seven states require risk-limiting post-election audits, and seven states require some other form of post-election audit, including procedural post-election audits.^[14][12]

See also: Primary types

Primary elections allow voters to determine which candidates compete in the general election and can be nonpartisan or partisan. In partisan primaries, voters choose the candidates they prefer for a political party to nominate in the general election.

The laws governing primary elections vary from state to state and can even vary within states by locality and political party. For example, only registered party members are allowed to vote in closed primaries, while registered party members and unaffiliated voters are allowed to vote in semi-closed primaries, and all voters are allowed to vote in open primaries.

Primary elections also vary by the way their outcomes are determined. Majority systems require the winning candidate to receive at least fifty percent of the votes cast, while plurality systems do not. In top-two primaries, top-four primaries, and blanket primaries, all candidates are listed on the same ballot, regardless of partisan affiliation.

See also: Laws governing the private funding of elections

The private funding of elections refers to the practice of nonprofits, private organizations, or individuals providing funding or other resources to election administrators for the purpose of conducting or administering an election. As of January 2026, 29 states enacted laws banning or otherwise restricting the use of private donations for election administration purposes. Twenty-two of these states had a Republican trifecta when the law was adopted; five states had divided governments at the time. Two states, Louisiana and Wisconsin, adopted their bans through a ballot measure. No states banned or restricted private election funding prior to 2021. The map below shows the landscape of private funding laws as of January 2026, including all states that enacted laws and those states' trifecta status at the time of adoption.

See also: Ranked-choice voting (RCV)

A ranked-choice voting system (RCV) is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. There are multiple forms of ranked-choice voting, including instant-runoff voting, and single-transferable vote.

As of January 2026, ranked-choice voting was used for regular statewide elections in two states, Alaska and Maine.^[15][16][17] Hawaii also used ranked-choice voting for special congressional elections.^[18] Thirteen other states used ranked-choice voting in some local elections, while 18 states had adopted laws banning or prohibiting the use of ranked-choice voting statewide.

See also: Election recount laws and procedures in the 50 states

An election recount is a process by which votes cast in an election are re-tabulated to verify the accuracy of the original results. Recounts typically occur in the event of a close margin of victory, following accusations of election fraud, or due to the possibility of administrative errors. Recounts can either occur automatically or be requested by a candidate or voters. Recounts can happen in races at any level, from local offices up to presidential elections. In the case of presidential elections, however, recounts are carried out at the state level rather than nationally.

State recount laws differ in three key ways: whether a recount is available and, if so, if it occurs automatically or must be requested, which party may request a recount, and who pays for a recount if it occurs.

The map below outlines the type of recount laws in each state.

See also: Same-day voter registration

Same-day voter registration enables voters to register and vote at the same time. Same-day registration is sometimes referred to as Election Day registration.^[4]

In states that allow same-day registration, voters must generally provide proof of residency (e.g., utility bill, pay stub) and identity (e.g., driver's license) at the time of registration.

See also: Voter identification laws by state

These laws require voters to present some form of identification at the polls. In some cases, the required identification must include a photo.

As of October 2025, 36 states required voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day, but many states provide for exceptions to these rules. Of these states, 24 required voters to present identification containing a photograph, with certain exceptions, and 12 states did not explicitly require photo identification. The remaining 14 states did not generally require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day.

Valid forms of identification differ by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.

The federal Help America Vote Act requires that individuals in all 50 states who register to vote by mail and who have not voted previously in a federal election in their state must provide either their driver's license or a paycheck, bank statement, current utility bill, or government document showing their name and address. Individuals voting by mail must include a copy of one of those documents with their absentee/mail-in ballot.^[19]

These requirements do not apply if an individual submitted a copy of their identification, their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when registering to vote.

In certain states that require voters to provide identification, there may be exceptions that allow some voters to cast a ballot without providing an ID.

In 16 states, some or all voters can sign an affidavit or a form in lieu of providing identification. Seven states allow election officials or other voters to vouch for a person's identity instead of an ID. And in four states, voters who live and vote in state-licensed nursing homes or care centers do not have to provide ID. Nine states do not have any exceptions to their voter ID laws. To see more about these exceptions, see details by state below.

Forty states allow voters to cast a provisional ballot if they are unable to provide identification at the polls. If a voter casts a provisional ballot and returns with identification, or if their identity is verified by another method, the ballot will count.

Many states that require identification allow voters to cast provisional ballots if they do not have the required identification. Hover over each state in the map below for more details.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, "[b]ecause of the importance of the lists, and the constant movement on them, all states take steps to keep their voter registration rolls accurate and up to date." Election officials endeavor to ensure that the names of deceased persons, non-voting felons and former residents are not included on voter lists.^[20]

The states employ a variety of different methods and tools in this endeavor. States cross-check their voter lists against data from federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Postal Service. State election agencies also verify voter lists against information from other state agencies, including departments of vital statistics, motor vehicle registration agencies and departments of corrections. Every state also has policies to remove inactive voters from the voter rolls.^[20]

See also: Voting rights for people convicted of a felony

Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary substantially from state to state. As of April 2025, people convicted of a felony in Maine, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. retained the right to vote while incarcerated. In 38 other states, people convicted of a felony could not vote while incarcerated but automatically regained the right to vote upon their release or at some point thereafter. Ten states did not automatically restore voting rights for people convicted of a felony.^[4][21][22]

Generally, governors across the United States may exercise the executive authority to restore voting rights by pardon on an individual basis.

Since 2020, nine states have passed legislation that more quickly restored voting rights to certain individuals convicted of a felony, while voters in one state, California, approved a ballot measure that did so. Governors in two other states, Iowa and Virginia, took executive actions related to the restoration of voting rights. Read more below.