Help your audience navigate every voting option. Voters can receive support in requesting an absentee ballot or a vote by mail ballot in TurboVote with state-specific guidance and follow-up reminders sent by email and SMS.
Discovery
Visitors to your TurboVote homepage or embedded voting hub will find a prominent link to Request an Absentee Ballot along with links to see what’s on their ballot and review state voting guidance.
Existing users visiting personalized hubs and election guides will also be shown prominent links to request a mail ballot.
TurboVote shows users how to request an absentee ballot or vote by mail based on their address. Since the requirements and eligibility vary by state, TurboVote offers a seamless solution to deliver accurate and personalized information to your audience.
User Experience In Most States
In states that require voters to request an absentee ballot or apply to vote by mail, TurboVote connects to the appropriate government webpages and forms to complete their request.
In most of these states (e.g. Massachusetts), we advise voters to request a mail ballot online for ease but also link to the downloadable request form, if available. That said, if a user lives in:
- New Jersey, we advise them of the ability to permanently switch to voting by absentee ballot and link to a site where they can download their county-specific request form.
- States like Mississippi where you can't request a mail ballot online or by mail, we explain why they need to visit their local county clerk to request a ballot.
- New York City, we link to the city's own online request mail ballot site.
After requesting support, users are signed up with a TurboVote account and will receive automated follow-up notifications by email and SMS – they will also be opted-in to receive election reminders.
Notifications
- An immediate notification asking whether they finished requesting an absentee ballot complete with links back to their personalized Request Ballot guide (to complete the action) and Voting Hub (if they requested their ballot and need to see what's at stake).
- When there are upcoming elections they are eligible for, they will receive timely Election Reminders with links to personalized guides with election-specific guidance on how to vote by mail.
User Experience In States That Automatically Send Ballots By Mail
In states like Washington or California that automatically send ballots by mail ahead of each election, voters can check their registration to verify if their current address on file is correct. If their address on file is incorrect, voters can request their ballot be mailed to a new address.
After submitting their Mail Ballot Request form, users are signed up with a TurboVote account and will receive automated follow-up notifications by email and SMS – they will also be opted-in to receive election reminders.
Notifications
- Immediately following completion, users receive a notification
- reminding them that their state sends a ballot to every registered voter at the address on their voter registration
- linking to their personalized Request Ballot guide to help them check the address on their voter registration or request that their ballot be sent to a different address
- providing a personalized link to View Upcoming Elections
- We also send follow-up notification asking users whether they finished requesting an absentee ballot complete with links back to their personalized Request Ballot guide (to complete the action) and Voting Hub (if they requested their ballot and need to see what's at stake).
- When there are upcoming elections they are eligible for, they will also receive timely Election Reminders with links to personalized guides with election-specific guidance on how to vote by mail.
User Data and Insights
Accounts created using Request Mail Ballot are highlighted at the top of your dashboard in the TurboVote Admin Console and will set
- signup_app (user exports)/signedUpVia (webhooks) to “request-ballot”.
- voting_method_preference (user exports) to “by-mail”
When an existing user visits a personalized election guide and taps a request ballot button, we emit the user.voter-election-action-taken event with latest_election_action_type set to “requested-ballot” buttons to request a ballot.
Embed On Your Site
Drive traffic to your website and help your audience request a mail ballot for upcoming elections by embedding the experience on your website.
- Check out the Request Mail Ballot embed in action on our demo site.
- Learn more about how to embed TurboVote on your site.
- Request your embed code from our team.
Promotion Ideas
Why It Matters
All 50 states and D.C. offer mail voting. Only 14 states require voters to provide a qualifying excuse to vote by mail. Mail ballots provide a secure, auditable method of voting that increases access to voters who are traveling, people with disabilities, and those who cannot physically get to polling locations.
Best Practices
Incorporate "Request Your Absentee Ballot" or “Vote by Mail” calls to action in your upcoming voter engagement campaigns. There are flexible options for helping your audience vote by mail.
Request an Absentee Ballot: Users enter their information to learn how to vote by mail in their state, create an account with TurboVote, and receive upcoming election reminders.
- Embed the form directly on your website
- Link to your destination site: [yourURL].turbovote.org/request-ballot/voter-info
Voting Hub: Users can discover Request an Absentee Ballot right from your TurboVote homepage.
- Embed the hub directly on your website
- Link to your destination site: [yourURL].turbovote.org
Review the TurboVote elections calendar for a complete list of upcoming elections along with the relevant vote by mail deadlines. When you are planning your outreach, encourage your audience to request their absentee or vote by mail ballot early to ensure they don’t miss the deadline.
Messaging and Graphics
Visit the 2025 Local Elections Toolkit for more content and graphics you can share with your audience.
By encouraging your audience to understand all of their voting options, you can activate voters and drive meaningful participation.