(NewsNation) — In an election in which every ballot may count, would your vote count if you cast it in early voting, then died before Election Day? It depends on where you die.
Some states explicitly allow votes cast by people who die before Election Day to be counted. A few others specifically ban it. But most states don’t address the matter.
“Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia have statutes that explicitly permit counting absentee ballots cast by voters who die before Election Day,” according to a chart constructed by the National Conference of State Legislatures. It adds that one state, Connecticut, only counts those votes if the person is a member of the armed services.
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“Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have statutes that explicitly prohibit counting absentee ballots cast by voters who die before Election Day,” the NCSL site says.
Two other states ban post-death votes but do so by opinions issued by those states’ attorneys general, not by law.
Five other states allow for absentee or early voting ballots to be challenged on the grounds that the voter died before Election Day.
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In 26 states, the NCSL found no laws, opinions or practices that address the issue. And, in practice, it’s only possible to challenge a ballot if it is still in a return envelope. Once the envelope has been opened and the ballot has been removed for counting, it can’t be traced to a specific voter.
Former President Jimmy Carter, who cast his absentee ballot from hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, might have been the most famous possible test of one of these laws. But Georgia has no law or ruling banning or permitting the counting of a ballot cast by someone who then dies before Election Day. So, his vote will count even if he dies before Nov. 5.
