absentee ballot

This term is primarily used in political and legal contexts to describe the mechanism of voting from a distance. It carries a neutral, administrative tone and is most frequently encountered in news reports, government guidelines, and civic discussions regarding election accessibility.

In some jurisdictions, this is referred to as a mail-in ballot. While often used interchangeably, an absentee ballot specifically emphasizes the voter's absence from their primary residence or polling district, whereas mail-in voting can sometimes refer to a broader system where all voters receive ballots by mail regardless of their location.