With less than 90 days until the midterm elections, many states are gearing up for early voting, which starts as early as September 6. In 2020, 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail. The trend continued in the 2022 midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day.
With less than 90 days until the midterm elections on November 5, election season is in full swing. And in many states, that means early voting has already begun or is just around the corner.
Early voting is a convenient way for voters to cast their ballots before Election Day. It's especially popular among voters who have busy schedules or who want to avoid long lines on Election Day. In 2020, a record number of Americans voted early, with 71% of voters casting their ballots before Election Day.
Election Season Begins: Early Voting Starts in September
There are a few different ways to vote early. The first is early in-person voting, where a voter casts a regular ballot in-person at a voting center before Election Day. The second is voting by mail, where the process and eligibility varies by state.
Eight states vote mostly by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Registered voters receive ballots and send them back. Most states allow any registered voter to request a mail ballot and send it back. This is also called mail 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 mail ballots.
Election Season Begins: Early Voting Starts in September
In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work hours, or if a voter is out of their home county on Election Day.
States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states don't begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.
Election Season Begins: Early Voting Starts in September
This year, early voting starts as early as September 6 in North Carolina. Seven more battleground states start that month, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada.
The first voters to be sent absentee ballots will be in North Carolina, which begins mailing out ballots for eligible voters on September 6.
Election Season Begins: Early Voting Starts in September
Here is a list of early voting dates for each state:
* **In-person early voting in bold.**
* **Sept. 6**
* North Carolina - Absentee ballots sent to voters
* **Sept. 16**
* Pennsylvania - Mail-in ballots sent to voters
* **Sept. 17**
* Georgia - Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
* **Sept. 19**
* Wisconsin - Absentee ballots sent
* **Sept. 20**
* Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming - Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
* Minnesota, South Dakota - In-person absentee voting begins
* Virginia - In-person early voting begins
* Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia - Absentee ballots sent
* **Sept. 21**
* Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
* Indiana, New Mexico - Absentee ballots sent
* Maryland, New Jersey - Mail-in ballots sent
* **Sept. 23**
* Mississippi - In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent
* Oregon, Vermont - Absentee ballots sent
* **Sept. 26**
* Illinois - In-person early voting begins
* Michigan - Absentee ballots sent
* Florida, Nevada - Mail-in ballots sent
* North Dakota - Absentee & mail-in ballots sent
* **Sept. 30**
* Nebraska - Mail-in ballots sent
* **Oct. 4**
* Connecticut - Absentee ballots sent
* **Oct. 6**
* Michigan - In-person early voting begins
* Maine - In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
* California - In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
* Montana - In-person absentee voting begins
* Nebraska - In-person early voting begins
* Georgia - Absentee ballots sent
* Massachusetts - Mail-in ballots sent
* **Oct. 8**
* California - Ballot drop-offs open
* New Mexico, Ohio - In-person absentee voting begins
* Indiana - In-person early voting begins
* Wyoming - In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent
* **Oct. 9**
* Arizona - In-person early voting begins & mail ballots sent
* **Oct. 11**
* Colorado - Mail-in ballots sent
* Arkansas, Alaska - Absentee ballots sent
* **Oct. 15**
* Georgia - In-person early voting begins
* Utah - Mail-in ballots sent
* **Oct. 16**
* Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee - In-person early voting begins
* Iowa - In-person absentee voting begins
* Oregon, Nevada - Mail-in ballots sent
* **Oct. 17**
* North Carolina - In-person early voting begins
* **Oct. 18**
* Washington, Louisiana - In-person early voting begins
* Hawaii - Mail-in ballots sent
* **Oct. 19**
* Nevada, Massachusetts - In-person early voting begins
* Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas - In-person early voting begins
* Colorado - Ballot drop-offs open
* **Oct. 22**
* Hawaii, Utah - In-person early voting begins
* Missouri, Wisconsin - In-person absentee voting begins
* **Oct. 23**
* West Virginia - In-person early voting begins
* **Oct. 24**
* Maryland - In-person early voting begins
* **Oct. 25**
* Delaware - In-person early voting begins
* **Oct. 26**
* Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York - In-person early voting begins
* **Oct. 30**
* Oklahoma - In-person early voting begins
* **Oct. 31**
* Kentucky - In-person absentee voting begins
To find out more about early voting in your state, visit Vote.gov or your state's elections website.
