ballotbymail.org · nonpartisan
Voting by mail in Alabama
Only with a qualifying reason. You need an approved reason, such as travel, illness or disability, age, or work. Check your state's list. If you don't qualify, early in-person voting is usually an option.
Key dates
| Register to vote by | Mon, Oct 19 |
| Mail ballot request received by | Tue, Oct 27 |
| Early in-person voting | Wed, Sep 9 – Thu, Oct 29 (excuse required) |
| Mail your ballot by | Tue, Oct 27 (USPS: allow 7 days) |
| Election Day | Tue, Nov 3 |
| ID at the polls | Photo ID requested. Without one: Provisional ballot (ID must be delivered to the registrar by 5 p.m. Friday after the election for it to count), OR vote a regular ballot if two election officials positively identify you and sign an affidavit. |
| Return rule | Received by noon on Election Day if mailed; by 5 p.m. Nov. 2 if hand delivered. |
| Missed the request deadline? | Voters sent away by an employer unexpectedly, caregivers of someone needing emergency treatment within 5 days of the election, or voters whose close family member died within 5 days of the election: by Mon, Nov 2, 5 p.m.. Voters with a medical emergency needing a physician's treatment within 5 days of the election: by Tue, Nov 3, noon. |
| Who can return it for you | You must return it yourself, with narrow exceptions. You return your own ballot by U.S. Mail, a commercial carrier, or by handing it to the Absentee Election Manager yourself; the only exception is your designee under medical-emergency absentee voting. No drop boxes. |
Steps
- Check the excuse list on your state's site. Common ones: away on Election Day, illness or disability, 65 or older, work hours.
- If you qualify, request now and include the reason exactly as the form asks.
- If you don't qualify, look up early in-person voting. It's available in most excuse states.
- When your ballot arrives, fill it out in blue or black ink and sign the envelope.
- Return it the way your state requires and track it until it shows received.
Don't get rejected
- Extra step in your state: two witnesses (18+) or a notary must sign the envelope. This is the #1 reason ballots get tossed where it applies.
- Sign the envelope. An unsigned envelope is the most common fixable mistake.
- Use the secrecy sleeve if one is included, then the return envelope. Don't tape anything.
- Keep the phone and email on your registration current. If there's a problem, that's how they reach you to fix it.
https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes
https://myinfo.alabamavotes.gov/voterview
https://myinfo.alabamavotes.gov/voterview
ballotbymail.org/state/al
Trouble voting? 866-OUR-VOTE (English) · 888-VE-Y-VOTA (Español) · 888-API-VOTE (Asian languages) · 844-YALLA-US (العربية)
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Rules checked 2026-09-09; deadlines checked 2026-09-09. Sources: NCSL, Vote.org, CEIR, state election offices. The official site wins if anything differs. Free to copy and post.