absentee ballot

noun

: a ballot submitted (as by mail) in advance of an election by a voter who is unable to be present at the polls

Examples of absentee ballot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Detroit also had 38 official absentee ballot drop boxes, and on Election Day, 402 precincts opened successfully, the city says. — Karma Sabbah, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026

Election administrators and voting rights advocates have been advising voters casting late absentee ballots to use drop boxes or deliver them to polling places in person rather than mail them. — ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026

An additional 50,000 have returned absentee ballots, according to state statistics. — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026

Early in-person votes and absentee ballots processed during early voting will be among the first ballots to be counted. — Caleb Groves, AJC.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for absentee ballot

• alate
• fallot
• mallet
• palate
• palette
• pallet
• shallot

Legal Definition

absentee ballot

noun

absentee bal·​lot

: a ballot submitted (as by mail) in advance of an election by a voter who is unable to be present at the polls