Election Day is less than 80 days away, but voters in more than a dozen states will be able to cast their ballots as early as next month.
States from California to Nebraska to Vermont — and many in between — will begin voting in mid-September or early October, before much of the rest of the country.
In key battleground state Pennsylvania, voters can cast their ballots as early as Sept. 16, less than 10 days after Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump debate each other for the first time since she took the Democratic primary in July. The candidates are circling a second debate, reportedly in October, that could potentially happen once early voting begins in some states.
The landscape of the race has changed dramatically in the past few weeks, with voters in those states filling out their ballots well before millions of other Americans, and other states starting early voting in late October. Some are offering early voting in person, while others are offering the option of mail-in ballots.
Here are the first states with early voting in the 2024 election:
| State | Early VotingStart Date | Vote By Mail? | In-Person Early Voting? | In-Person Early Voting End Date |
| Pennsylvania | Sept. 16 | Nov. 5 | ||
| Virginia | Sept. 20 | Nov. 2 | ||
| Minnesota | Sept. 20 | Nov. 4 | ||
| South Dakota | Sept. 20 | N/A | ||
| Vermont | Sept. 21 | Nov. 4 | ||
| Illinois | Sept. 26 | Nov. 4 | ||
| Maine | Oct. 6 | Oct. 31 | ||
| California | Oct. 7 | Nov. 5 | ||
| Montana | Oct. 7 | Nov. 4 | ||
| Nebraska | Oct. 7 | Nov. 4 | ||
| Indiana | Oct. 8 | Nov. 4 | ||
| New Mexico | Oct. 8 | Nov. 2 | ||
| Ohio | Oct. 8 | Nov. 3 | ||
| Wyoming | Oct. 8 | Nov. 4 | ||
| Arizona | Oct. 9 | Nov. 1 |
Arizona
All Arizona elections must support early voting, including mail-in voting and in-person early voting. Early voters receive their ballot at their polling location and cannot take it away from there.
Voters on the active early voting list can request to receive their ballot by mail. Completed ballots can be dropped off at official ballot drop-off locations or at countywide polling locations that issued them, and must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, November 5.
The last day to register to vote in the state is October 7.
California
Every registered voter in California receives an absentee ballot, and voters can choose to vote by mail, drop off an absentee ballot in person, or vote in person. Voters will begin receiving absentee ballots on October 7, and ballot drop-off locations will open the same day.
Absentee ballots must be postmarked no later than November 5 and received by November 12.
The last day to register to vote in the state is October 21.
Illinois
Illinois voters will be able to vote starting Sept. 26, 40 days before the election.
Illinois local election officials have until Sept. 16 to provide the Illinois State Board of Elections with lists of early voting locations and times and until Sept.
19 to post them on their websites, according to State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich.
Early voting will expand Oct. 21 to include permanent polling places, and those locations must offer voting hours on weekends and holidays.
“That date is significant because that’s when Chicago, Cook County and major other jurisdictions see a significant increase in early voting,” Dietrich said.
Starting Aug. 7, voters can apply for an absentee ballot up to five days before the Oct. 31 election — or 30 days before the election if they are outside the United States — to get a full ballot.
Mail-in ballots cannot be postmarked after Election Day and must be received within 14 days of Election Day.
Indiana
Voters in Indiana can vote early and in person before Election Day starting October 8 through November 4 at noon. However, each county’s schedule varies, and additional early voting locations will be open from October 26 through November 3.
Voters can also vote by mail, as long as the absentee ballot application is received by October 24 and the completed ballot is received by 6:00 p.m. on Election Day.
The last day to register to vote in the state is October 7.
Maine
In Maine, voters can submit their ballots as early as October 6, and early voting options are available through October 31.
Voters can also vote absentee by mail, in person, or online, as long as completed ballots are received by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee ballots can be submitted before October 31 for any reason. After that, a special circumstances application must be completed along with the application.
Maine voters can register to vote in person through Election Day, but the deadline to register virtually or by mail is October 15.
Minnesota
Voters in Minnesota, where Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be on the ballot to run alongside Harris for vice president, can cast their ballots early, starting Sept. 20 and ending Nov. 4, the day before Election Day.
The state allows voters to apply for a ballot anytime during the year except on Election Day. To vote early in person using an absentee ballot, voters can go to their local elections office. Voters do not need to register in advance if they provide proof of residency, but the deadline for virtual registration is Oct. 15.
To vote early by mail, Minnesotans must apply to have an absentee ballot mailed to them and do not need to be registered to apply. A witness is required for the ballot to be counted. The witness can be a registered voter in the state or a notary.
Any ballots received after Election Day will not be counted.
Montana
Early in-person absentee voting is available in Montana from October 7 to November 4.
To vote early by mail, Montana residents must request a ballot by October 31 and submit a completed ballot by November 5 at 8:00 p.m.
Standard voter registration forms must be postmarked by November 7 and received within three days to be counted. Late registration is accepted until 8:00 p.m. on November 5.
Nebraska
Voters in Nebraska can apply for early absentee ballots starting July 8, but applications are not sent out by county elections offices until Sept. 30, according to Jackie Ourady, spokesperson for the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office. Ballots can be returned in person, at a county drop box or by mail, but all ballots must be received by the close of polls on Election Day.
Early voting at county elections offices will begin Oct. 7 and run through Nov. 4.
Counties with absentee ballots will begin mailing ballots to registered voters by Oct. 16 and no later than Oct. 25.
The last day to vote early at a county elections office in the state is Nov. 4, and the deadline to return ballots to the county elections office or secure drop box is Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. Central time. Early ballots can be received until Nov.
5 at 5 p.m. 7:00 PM Central Time.
New Mexico
In New Mexico, early in-person voting will begin Oct. 6 and run through Nov. 2. Expanded early voting is available at additional locations beginning Oct. 19, the third Saturday before the election.
Absentee ballot applications must be received no later than Oct. 22, and completed ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
Voters can register to vote by mail or by mail until Oct. 6, or they can register at same-day voter registration locations through Election Day.
Ohio
Ohioans can vote as early as Oct. 8, when early, in-person absentee voting begins. Voters who want to vote by mail must mail their absentee ballot applications in advance so they can be received by the election board by Oct. 29. Then, ballots postmarked no later than Nov. 4 and received no later than No. 9 are counted.
The voter registration deadline in Ohio is Oct. 7 for the general election.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania voters can cast their ballots as early as September 16. Voters can pick up their ballots at county elections offices and have the option to fill them out there, mail them in, or drop them off later. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot in person is October 29 at 5 p.m., with the deadline to drop it off at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Matt Heckel, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of State, says the state is handling early voting differently than other states.
“Once the ballots are finalized and printed in the county, a registered voter can apply for an absentee ballot in person at the county elections office, fill it out, and then submit it all in one visit,” Heckel says.
South Dakota
There is no early in-person voting option in South Dakota.
However, absentee ballots can be dropped off at the county auditor’s office between September 20 and November 4, and absentee ballot requests do not require a reason. These ballots can be requested through November 4, the day before the election, and can be returned by mail or in person by 5 p.m. the day before the election.
The voter registration deadline in South Dakota is October 21.
Vermont
All registered voters in Vermont will receive absentee ballots for the general election in the mail. Voters who are in the military or overseas and qualify to vote in Vermont will receive their ballots 45 days before the election.
General election ballots are being mailed to all others in batches starting Sept. 23 and ending Oct. 1, according to Seán Sheehan, the Vermont Secretary of State’s director of elections.
Once they arrive, voters can vote by mail or drop them off at the city clerk’s office until the day before Election Day. Sheehan says offices will be open for early voting in the state for about 45 days before the election — or Sept. 21 — depending on when they receive their ballots.
He notes that some offices have ballot drop boxes where voters can drop off filled-out ballots, but the decision to issue them is up to each city’s civil council.
Virginia
According to Andrea M. Gaines, external affairs manager for the Virginia Department of Elections, voters in the state will have the chance to cast their ballots in person and in person as early as September 20.
Voters can apply for an absentee ballot and, once they receive their ballot, they can return it by mail to their local registrar general’s office by 7 p.m. on Election Day or to a drop-off location. If returning a ballot by mail, it must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the office by 12 p.m. on November 8.
Gaines notes that early voting will be offered by all registrar general’s offices in the state, with the last day for early voting being November 2.
“Some localities may offer additional satellite voting locations, with dates and times determined by each jurisdiction,” Gaines says.
“Registrar general’s offices will be open for early voting the two Saturdays prior to Election Day.”
Wyoming
Starting Oct. 8, Wyoming voters can vote in the general election.
Registered voters can obtain an absentee ballot from Oct. 8 through Sept. 21 for military and overseas voters — or any day before Election Day by contacting the county clerk’s office.
Mail-in ballots will be sent to voters by Oct.
8 or Sept. 21 for military and overseas voters.
Once a ballot is completed, it can be returned in person or by mail to the county clerk’s office. Ballots must be received at the county clerk’s office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Any received after the deadline will not be counted.
The state’s voter identification law, which was changed in 2021, now requires acceptable identification for in-person voting, including early voting. The list of acceptable forms has been expanded to 11 options.
