Here is a very important question: “Will we ever vote on our phones?” We see it asked more and more; and now with the 2020 election season racing toward conclusion, there is a fevered pitch to the tone of the ask. This paper examines the most basic challenges of process and technology that must be resolved before we can answer with an unqualified “yes.” ….

This paper catalogs the general processes each of these states utilizes to count absentee ballots in the upcoming election. Elections conducted by mail vary widely from in-person elections in their administration, differing in verification of identity and/or signature, election certification dates, and processing requirements ….