© 2026 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions | WYDOT Road Conditions

How the Civil War shaped voting by mail 

Voting by mail became a major political flashpoint during the COVID-19 pandemic, but controversies over voting remotely aren’t new. During the American Civil War, tens of thousands of soldiers used a simple envelope to cast their ballot from the battlefield.

Dan Piazza from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum joins Here & Now‘s Robin Young to tell the story of one of those envelopes.

A stamp used on a mail in voting ballot from the Civil War. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution)
/
A stamp used on a mail in voting ballot from the Civil War. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom