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"Voter Intent" Laws to Standardize Ballot Interpretation

Almost every state has some form of a “voter intent” law or policy, which operates to guide election officials in determining a voter’s choices on their ballot. These policies help in situations where the voter’s marks on a ballot are unclear or there are stray markings, and allow voter’s ballots to be counted rather than disqualified.
United States Map
Washington New York U.S. Virgin Islands Puerto Rico Guam Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands American Samoa New Hampshire Vermont Virginia Pennsylvania New York Maine West Virginia Ohio Kentucky Indiana Michigan Illinois Wisconsin North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Georgia Florida Mississippi Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Iowa Minnesota Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska South Dakota North Dakota Texas 33 Colorado Wyoming Montana Idaho Arizona Utah Nevada Oregon California Hawaii Alaska Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington D.C. New Hampshire Vermont
  • State has a voter intent law or administrative rule  (48 states)
  • State has no applicable law or rule (2 states + D.C.)
Recommended citation:  Movement Advancement Project. "Voter Intent Laws." https://www.mapresearch.org/democracy-maps/voter_intent_laws. Accessed [day of access]

Breakdown by Population

*Note: These percentages reflect the voting-eligible population, as reported by the United States Election Project.

97%

97 % of voting-eligible population lives in states that have a voter intent law or administrative rule 

3%

3 % of voting-eligible population lives in states that have no applicable law or rule



Data current as of 06/01/2025
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