Early 2024 Election Voting Is Underway: What to Know

Voters in over a dozen states are poised to start early voting before millions of other Americans.

Election Day is less than 19 days away, but early voting has already kicked off.

Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota were the first states to start early voting on Sept. 20. In Virginia, voters can line up at the polls. In Minnesota and South Dakota, voters can drop off their absentee ballots in person instead of mailing them.

States from California to Nebraska to Vermont – and several in between – begin voting in September and October, before much of the rest of the country. The landscape of the presidential election changed dramatically over the summer, with President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection coming shortly after a disastrous debate between him and former President Donald Trump in June that elevated questions about the president’s age and energy levels.

Vice President Kamala Harris launched her campaign for president in July to a whirlwind of excitement among Democrats, and she accepted the party’s nomination in August at the Democratic National Convention just over a month after her campaign for president began.

Voters have seen Trump and Harris go up against each other just once at a debate in September – and that might be the only opportunity they get, as Trump recently said he will not debate Harris again.

What Is Early Voting and How Does It Work?

Early voting is a process that allows citizens to cast their ballots in person ahead of Election Day. Absentee voting also allows voting before Election Day by mail or drop-off.

While both in-person early voting and absentee voting allow voters to cast their ballot before Election Day, the in-person early voting process more resembles what a person would do at a polling place on Election Day.

Some states require an excuse to qualify for an absentee ballot. More than two dozen states offer “no-excuse” absentee voting, which means that any voter can request and cast an absentee ballot without providing a reason for why it’s necessary, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.