</p> <p>The pandemic has caused interest in <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/13/mail-in-voting-became-much-more-common-in-2020-primaries-as-covid-19-spread/">mail-in voting to surge</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/politics/ballot-requests-voting-election-2020/index.html">record numbers</a> this presidential election. Postal Service have caused <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/21/usps-post-office-mail-slowdowns-louis-dejoy">slowdowns in mail delivery</a>. The Postal Service itself has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/usps-states-delayed-mail-in-ballots/2020/08/14/64bf3c3c-dcc7-11ea-8051-d5f887d73381_story.html">warned states</a> that ballots mailed by election officials close to Election Day may not reach voters in time. </p> <p>Fortunately, almost everyone who is allowed to vote by mail can stay on top of where those ballots are. In 44 states and the District of Columbia, a unified system allows all voters to see when their request for a ballot by mail was received, when the ballot was mailed to them and when the completed ballot was received back at the local election office.
