Tuesday, November 5th is Election Day – but if Americans vote as they have in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast their ballots before the big day.
Early voting begins as early as September. 6 for eligible voters, with seven battleground states sending ballots to at least some voters in the same month, making September and October less of a countdown to Election Day and more of the start of “election season.”
States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, such as members of the military or people who are ill.
In some states, nearly all voters cast ballots by mail.
Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person voting riskier.
That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting in person and 41% by mail.
Early voting remained popular halfway through the termwith 57% of voters casting their ballots before Election Day.
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Election officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits launched after the 2020 election have revealed no evidence of widespread fraud or corruption.
The difference between “early in-person” voting and “mail-in” or “absentee” voting.
There are several ways to vote before Election Day.
The first one is early in-person votingwhere a voter casts a regular ballot in person at a polling place prior to Election Day.
The second is Postal votingwhere the process and eligibility vary by state.
Eight states vote primarily by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Registered voters receive ballots and send them back.
Most states allow any registered voter to request an absentee ballot and mail it back. This is also called absentee voting or sometimes absentee voting. Depending on the state, voters can return their ballot by mail, at a drop box, and/or at an office or facility that accepts absentee ballots.
In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work schedule or if a voter is out of their county on Election Day.
States process and tally ballots at different times. Some states don’t begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.
Voting will begin September 6 in North Carolina, with six other battleground states starting that month.
This list of early voting deadlines is for guidance only. In some areas, early voting may begin earlier than the dates listed. For complete and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes, and deadlines, visit Vota.gov and your state’s elections website.
The first voters to receive absentee ballots will be in North Carolina, which will begin mailing ballots to eligible voters on September 6.
That same month, six more conflict-affected states began early voting, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada.
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September Deadlines
In-person early voting in bold.
September 6th
- North Carolina – Mail-in ballots have been sent to voters
September 16th
- Pennsylvania – Mail-in ballots sent to voters
September 17th
- Georgia – Mail-in ballots sent to military and overseas
September 19th
- Wisconsin – Mail-in ballots sent out
September 20th
- Virginia – In-person early voting begins
- Minnesota, South Dakota – In-Person Mail-In Voting Begins
- Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia – Mail-in ballots sent
- Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming – Mail-in ballots sent to military and overseas
September 21st
- Maryland, New Jersey – Mail-in ballots sent
- Indiana, New Mexico – Mail-in ballots sent
- Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington – Mail-in ballots sent to military and overseas
September 23rd
- Mississippi – In-Person Mail-In Voting Begins and ballots sent
- Oregon – Mail-in ballots sent
- Vermont – Mail-in ballots sent out
September 26th
- Illinois – In-Person Early Voting Begins and mail-in ballots
- Michigan – Mail-in ballots sent out
- Florida – Mail-in ballots sent
- North Dakota – Absentee and Mail-In Ballots Sent
- Nevada – Mail-in Ballots Sent to Out-of-State Voters
September 30th
- Nebraska – Mail-in ballots sent out
October Deadlines
October 4th
- Connecticut – Mail-in ballots sent out
October 6th
- Maine – In-Person Mail-In Voting Begins and mail-in ballots
October 7th
- California – In-Person Mail-In Voting Begins and mail-in ballots
- Nebraska – In-person early voting begins
- Georgia – Mail-in ballots sent
- Massachusetts – Mail-in ballots sent
- Montana – In-Person Mail-In Voting Begins
October 8th
- California – Voting Opens
- New Mexico, Ohio – In-Person Mail-In Voting Begins
- Indiana – In-person early voting begins
- Wyoming – In-person mail-in voting begins and ballots sent
October 9th
- Arizona – In-person early voting begins and mail-in ballots
October 11th
- Colorado: Mail-in ballots sent
- Arkansas, Alaska – Mail-in ballots sent
October 15th
- Georgia – In-person early voting begins
- Utah – Mail-in ballots sent out
October 16th
- Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee – In-person early voting begins
- Iowa – In-person mail-in voting begins
- Oregon, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent
October 17th
- North Carolina – In-person early voting begins
October 18th
- Louisiana – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Washington – Mail-in ballots sent out
- Hawaii – Mail-in ballots sent out
October 19th
- Nevada, Massachusetts – In-Person Early Voting Begins
October 21st
- Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas – In-person early voting begins
- Colorado – Voting Opens
October 22nd
- Hawaii, Utah – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Missouri, Wisconsin – In-Person Mail-In Voting Begins
October 23rd
- West Virginia – In-person early voting begins
October 24th
- Maryland – In-Person Early Voting Begins
October 25th
- Delaware – In-person early voting begins
October 26th
- Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York – In-person early voting begins
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October 30th
- Oklahoma – In-person early voting begins
October 31st
- Kentucky – In-Person Mail-In Voting Begins
Kellianne Jones is the senior coordinating producer of politics for Fox News Channel.