The absentee ballot request analysis focused on six battleground states with sufficient data for
inclusion: Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
For administrative purposes, many Secretaries of State and State Boards of Election track which
voters have submitted requests for absentee ballots regardless of whether the absentee ballot
is returned. The availability and distribution of this data varies by state according to statespecific law and usage policy.
This information, where available, is updated in varying frequencies. In every state included in
this analysis, the data is current as of September 22, 2016.
In all states except Michigan, the partisan affiliation of voters submitting applications for
absentee ballots were determined by the party affiliation listed on their registration records.
The availability and collection of information pertaining to a voters party affiliation varies by
state. Some states do not disseminate this information for public use and others do not collect
this information from voters when they register.
This analysis grouped these affiliations into three categories: Democrat, Republican and Other.
Democrats and Republicans refer to absentee ballot requestors who are explicitly affiliated as
Democrats or Republicans on their registration records.
In Florida, Other includes those listed as Green, Independent, Libertarian, No Party or Other.
In Iowa, those who were listed as Unaffiliated or Other were combined into Other. In North
Carolina, this category combines Libertarian and Unaffiliated voters. In Nevada, Other includes
those listed as Green, Independent, Libertarian, No Party or Other. In Pennsylvania, voters
listed as Green, Independent, Libertarian, Unaffiliated, Unknown, No Party or Other were
combined into Other.
In Michigan, the partisan breakdown of ballot requestors relied on modeled party data
provided by TargetSmart.