# Data dictionary: Voting rules

This document lists data points collected by Ballotpedia related to vote by mail and in-person voting for statewide elections. Ballotpedia defines statewide elections as elections meeting the following criteria: *all voters in the state can participate, and all offices or measures up for election are at either the state or federal level.*

Data points are per-election, which may include statewide primaries, major party presidential preference primaries, general elections, and any applicable runoffs.

## Election Date

*Depending on your subscription, you may see local election dates included with these basic attributes, but without the voting rules data provided for statewide elections (vote in person or vote by mail rules).*

* election\_date
* state
* district\_type
* election\_type
* election\_description

## Vote by Mail

### Absentee/mail-in voting requirements

* vote\_by\_mail:\_in-person\_request\_deadline
* vote\_by\_mail:\_online\_request\_deadline
* vote\_by\_mail:\_mail\_request\_deadline
* vote\_by\_mail:\_mail\_request\_deadline\_type
* vote\_by\_mail:\_in-person\_return\_deadline
* vote\_by\_mail:\_mail\_return\_deadline
* vote\_by\_mail:\_mail\_return\_deadline\_type

## Vote in Person

### Voter ID requirements

* types\_of\_voter\_id\_accepted
* required\_materials\_url\_english
* required\_materials\_url\_spanish
* voter\_id\_required\_for\_all
* voter\_id\_source\_english
* voter\_id\_source\_spanish
* required\_materials

### Voter registration requirements

* In-person deadline
* Mail deadline
* Mail registration deadline type
* Online deadline
* Election Day registration
* Registration status URL English
* Registration status URL Spanish
* Registration update URL English
* Registration update URL Spanish
* Register online URL English
* Register online URL Spanish

### Early voting

* Early voting start date
* Early voting end date

### Polling information

* Poll times
* Voting location URL English
* Voting location URL Spanish
* Voter info URL English
* Voter info URL Spanish


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://developer.ballotpedia.org/dictionaries-and-terms/data-dictionary-voting-rules.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
