Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts has included a vote-by-mail option to encourage social distancing while ensuring that our right to vote is still protected. Voting by mail is similar to absentee voting, but a voter does not have to be out of town on Election Day in order to participate, and there are multiple ways to deliver your ballot.
If you were registered to vote by July 15, 2020, the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office sent a vote-by-mail application to the address at which you are registered/the mailing address indicated when you last registered to vote. If you registered to vote/updated your registration after July 15, 2020, you will need to take the following steps to apply and vote by mail.
How to Vote by Mail
Request Your Ballot
Complete the Vote-by-mail application by 4 pm on October 28! Apply online.
Fill Out Your Ballot
Provided you return your vote-by-mail application in time, you will receive:
- instructions for completing the ballot;
- an inner envelope where the ballot is placed after voting; and
- an outer envelope addressed to your local election official with postage.
Read the instructions and remember to sign the envelope neatly!
Return Your Ballot
Once you have filled out your ballot, seal it in and sign the inner, then seal it in the outer envelope.
You must turn in your ballot via mail, in person at your town/city election office or via a “municipal ballot drop box.” In the case of ballots returned by mail, ballots must be postmarked by November 3, 2020. In the case of ballots returned via drop box or in person, ballots must be received by the close of polls on November 3, 2020.
If postage isn’t provided, stop by the Center for Civic Engagement, MH 316.
Salem has a Ballot Drop Box outside the fire station at 64 Loring Ave. between North and Central campuses. Find other town/city election offices and municipal drop box.
Confirm Your Ballot
You can track your ballot to confirm it has been received online.
Next Steps
Still need help? Click here to find dates and sign up for an upcoming Election 101: Preparing to Vote Session.
Check Your Voter Registration Status
Register to Vote on Campus
Register to Vote Off Campus
Create Your Voting Plan
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