Slightly morbid election question:

[Coventina]

For the first time ever, I am voting by mail in this general election.

I plan on sending my ballot back almost as soon as I get it.

I have always been a die-hard "show up at the poll" person, as I believe in the public demonstration of civic duty, and also in case I want to change my mind for any reason. (That's never happened, BTW, in a general, but it has happened in primaries).

Anyway, I'm sending in my ballot ASAP in case I become disabled / die before the election.

But then I wondered: If people send in their ballot, and then die before election day, are their ballots still counted?

[gratuitous]

1. Depends on your state's law

In Oregon, where vote-by-mail has been the law for a while, any ballot received before the 8 p.m. deadline on election day is counted. So if you fill out your ballot, send it in, and it arrives before election day, it's counted, no matter what happens to you in between time.

[unblock]

2. As a practical matter, I can't see anyone routinely checking that

Most likely it legally counts anyway. Even if state law said otherwise, how would the vote counters know to check? Who would be responsible for producing a death certificate to invalidate the ballot?

[Laelth]

3. +1

Odds are, it will count.

-Laelth