The midterm election season is underway. Elections will be held on Nov. 8 to determine House seats, Senate seats and other state and local elected positions.
Each state has different methods of requesting absentee ballots.
If you’re looking to vote by mail this year, check your state’s voting website for more information about how to request an absentee ballot.
How to request an absentee ballot in Utah
Utah automatically sends an absentee ballot to all registered voters.
Ahead of the election, all registered voters in Utah will receive a ballot by mail. According to the Utah government’s voter information website, county clerks began mailing ballots on Oct. 18 and will conclude mailing them on Nov. 1.
Absentee ballots only need to be requested if you need your ballot sent to a different address. This address change can be processed on Utah’s voting website and needs to be completed 11 days before the election.
Check your county’s deadlines for returning ballots on Utah’s website. Ballots can either be mailed or returned to a ballot box.
Are mail-in ballots safe?
The Deseret News reported that most Utahns vote by mail and an overwhelming majority of Utah voters have confidence in Utah’s elections. Mail-in ballots in Utah have significantly increased voter participation. A recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found that 68% of Utah voters plan to vote by mail.
Columbia University professor Steven M. Bellovin found that security measures associated with mall-in ballots, like authentication flaps, ballot tracking and ballots being sent to registered voters, led to increased safety. Bellovin wrote, “These security measures bring the integrity of mail-in ballots to levels very close to those of in-person ballots, while also considerably increasing availability. In my business, we call that a net win for security.”
A recent study conducted by Towson University found that mail-in ballots are secure. This study found that not only does using mail-in ballots increase voter participation, but it also “reduces the likelihood of adversarial interference.”