If you are currently residing in Boston or consider Boston to be your most recent home/permanent address, you are eligible to register and vote in Massachusetts. If you are residing in Boston, but have residence in another location that you consider home, you are eligible to vote in that state.

If you intend to return back to the Boston campus in a future semester and consider Boston to be your home, you can register in Boston and request an absentee ballot.

You should check your voter registration, register to vote, and request a mail ballot as early as possible.

This decision is completely up to you! Check howto.vote to see if you qualify for mail voting. Note that your usual polling places might be closed, and also that you may need an excuse to vote by mail depending on your state.

There is no difference. Absentee voting has traditionally described voting by mail when not in the state where you are registered to vote. Voting by mail describes a process where all registered voters can mail in a ballot.

It’s not just presidential candidates that are on the ballot! State legislators, city councilors, governors, mayors, and ballot measures might appear on your ballot this year. Learn more about your candidates at ballotready.org.

First, check to see when your state sends out mail ballots to voters at your state government’s website. Some states allow you to track your ballot’s location online. Feel free to also call your local election office. If you have not requested a ballot by your state’s deadline, plan to vote in person if you can. If you are not in your state, you can attempt to submit the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (https://www.fvap.gov/fwab-privacy-notice.) This form is designed for those abroad but will sometimes be accepted from absentee voters in the continental United States.

Yes!

In many states, you can register to vote and request an absentee ballot online or by email. Some states will also mail you a pre-postaged ballot. If you do need stamps and envelopes to mail in forms or your ballot, you can find these resources at a post office or sometimes at a grocery store. TurboVote will mail you a registration form and absentee ballot request form if you sign up for their service.

Do I need a government ID to vote in person?
In some states, you may need to show ID to register to vote, submit a mail ballot, or vote in person. Check out www.vote.org/voter-id-laws for a state by state breakdown

In some states, you will need witnesses to sign your mail in ballot. These can be anyone nearby – your family or your friends. A small number of states require that mail in ballots be notarized. If you are in your home state, your local election office will usually have recommended notaries listed.