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Absentee Voting
Until
recently, American citizens were expected to vote in
person on Election Day. Exceptions were occasionally
made for people to vote before the election by
absentee ballot, but you generally needed a very good
reason for doing so. Absentee ballots were seen as a
response to exceptional situations, and not the norm.
Over
the past ten years however, this has changed.
Virtually all states have relaxed their standards for
issuing absentee ballots. Now, in many cases you need
only ask for an absentee ballot to receive one. This
means that Americans can vote even if they cannot get
to their polling place on Election Day.
The
catch is you have to plan ahead. To receive an
absentee ballot, you will need to request on well in
advance of an election (exact dates differ greatly by
state). Consult your state
election site for
specific details on your state's deadline, and unique
process for requesting and receiving an absentee
ballot.
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