You’ve probably heard some pretty wild claims lately about how "nobody else in the world" votes by mail except for Americans. It sounds like one of those things that could be true if you don't look too closely, but once you actually start digging into global election laws, the reality is way more interesting—and a lot more crowded.
Honestly, the idea that the U.S. is some lonely island of paper envelopes is just plain wrong. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), dozens of countries use postal voting. As of early 2026, we're looking at about 34 countries or territories that have some form of in-country mail-in voting. If you count countries that allow their citizens living abroad to mail back a ballot, that number jumps to over 100.
Basically, if you’re a voter in Switzerland, Germany, or even South Korea, your mailbox is a perfectly normal place to cast your vote. It’s not just a "pandemic thing" or a new-age experiment; for many nations, the postman has been the gatekeeper of democracy for over a century.
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The Global Leaders in Mail In Ballots
Some countries don't just "allow" mail-in voting; they've basically perfected it. Take Switzerland. If you want to talk about a place that loves its mail, this is it. Around 90% of Swiss voters choose to skip the polling station entirely and send their ballots through the mail. It’s been the standard there for decades. They don't just do it for big elections either—the Swiss vote on referendums multiple times a year, and the postal system is the backbone of that whole process.
Germany is another heavy hitter. They’ve had "Briefwahl" (postal voting) since 1957. Initially, you needed a valid excuse to get a mail-in ballot, like being sick or out of town. But in 2008, they basically said, "Why bother with the excuses?" and made it available to everyone. In the 2021 federal elections, roughly half of all German voters sent their ballots via the post.
Then you’ve got Australia. They’ve been at this for over 100 years. They introduced it back in 1902. Australia is famous for making voting mandatory, so they have to make it as easy as possible. While most people still like to grab a "democracy sausage" at the physical polling booths, mail-in ballots are a vital fail-safe for people in the outback or those traveling.
Who Else Is In The Club?
If you're wondering which other countries use mail in ballots for all their citizens (no excuse needed), here's a quick look at the "Universal Access" crew:
- Canada: Every single eligible voter can choose to vote by mail. You just apply for a special ballot, and you’re good to go.
- United Kingdom: Since the early 2000s, any voter in the UK can request a postal vote for any reason.
- South Korea: They’ve used it for years, and it was particularly massive during their 2020 and 2022 elections.
- Poland: They expanded their postal voting significantly in recent years to ensure people could participate regardless of where they were.
- New Zealand: Another country where the system is built to be "on-demand" and accessible.
The 2026 Shift: New Countries Joining the List
Things are changing fast. Just this month, Bangladesh made headlines by trying out postal ballots for the first time in its independent history for the February 12, 2026, election. They even launched a "Postal Vote BD" app to help facilitate the process for the 1.2 million citizens—many living in the Gulf region, the UK, and the US—who registered to vote this way.
It’s a huge move for a country that has traditionally relied on massive, in-person polling days. The Election Commission there basically realized that if you have millions of people working abroad in places like Saudi Arabia, you’re disenfranchising a huge chunk of your population if you don't offer a mail-in or remote option.
Why Some Countries Say No (And Others Say Yes)
It’s not all sunshine and stamps, though. While many democracies have embraced the mail, others are way more skeptical. France is a great example. They actually abolished most in-country postal voting in the 1970s because of fears of fraud. Today, they prefer "proxy voting," where you authorize someone else to go to the booth and pull the lever for you. However, even France still allows its citizens living outside the country to vote by mail for certain elections.
There’s also a big difference in how these countries do it. In the U.S., you'll often see "ballot curing"—where officials call you up if you forgot to sign your envelope so you can fix it. Annika Silva-Leander from International IDEA notes that this is actually pretty rare globally. In most other countries, if you mess up the form, your vote just doesn't count.
Also, the "all-mail" system—where the government just sends a ballot to every single registered voter without them asking—is actually quite rare. While U.S. states like Washington and Oregon do this, most other countries require you to at least check a box or register once to say, "Hey, I want to vote by mail this time."
Security and Trust
The biggest debate usually boils down to security. Critics often worry that mail-in ballots could be intercepted or that people could be coerced at their kitchen table.
But looking at the data from places like Luxembourg, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, the fraud rates are incredibly low. These countries treat the mail like a secure vault. In many European systems, the ballot goes inside an anonymous envelope, which then goes inside a signed return envelope. This "double-envelope" system is a classic way to keep the vote secret while still verifying that the person who sent it is a real, registered voter.
The Cultural Divide
You've probably noticed that mail-in voting is way more common in Europe and Oceania than in Africa or parts of Asia. In many African nations, the postal infrastructure just isn't reliable enough to handle millions of ballots. If the mail takes three weeks to cross the country, an election deadline is impossible to meet.
In contrast, in places like Austria, the system is so integrated that you can even request your "Wahlkarte" (voting card) online and have it delivered to you anywhere in the world. They’ve even had cases where the glue on the envelopes was "defective," causing them to postpone an entire election. That’s how seriously they take the physical security of the mail-in ballot.
What You Should Take Away
The "U.S. is the only one" narrative is a myth. Plain and simple. Whether it's the century-old systems in Australia and Germany or the brand-new 2026 rollout in Bangladesh, postal voting is a global standard for modern democracies.
- Universal access is the trend: More countries are moving away from "needing an excuse" and toward "on-demand" mail voting.
- Infrastructure matters: You need a high-functioning post office to make this work, which is why you see it most in wealthier, more developed nations.
- No single "right" way: From Switzerland's 90% usage to France's total ban on in-country mail, every country tweaks the system based on its own history and fears.
If you’re curious about how your own voting status compares or want to see the specific rules for the upcoming 2026 midterms in the U.S., you should check your local Secretary of State website. Rules are shifting constantly, and staying on top of the registration deadlines is the only way to make sure your voice actually gets into the count.
Check your registration status today. It usually takes less than two minutes, and it's the first step to making sure you're ready, whether you're heading to a booth or your mailbox.