Delaware, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire residents had not yet voted in their Sept. 13 primary contests before the first ballots cast in the Nov. 8 general election began arriving in North Carolina post offices on Sept. 10.
The day before, local elections officials across the state began mailing absentee or vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots to the 50,000 voters who requested them. Apparently, it didn’t take long for some to return completed ballots.
North Carolina is the first state in the 2022 midterms elections to dispatch VBM ballots to voters, but it soon won’t be alone. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are among states where officials will do so within days.
The three are among the 21 states where elections officials by state law must get VBM ballots to voters who requested them no less than 45 days before an election. This year, that would be Sept. 24.
Some states—such as North Carolina—have tiered deadlines with VBM ballots sent to military and overseas voters weeks before they are mailed to in-state and domestic voters.
With VBM ballots in some states already being mailed, designated polling sites for in-person early voting are set to open in nine states in September—beginning Sept. 19 in Pennsylvania and Sept. 23-24 in South Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota, Vermont, and Virginia.
VBM and in-person during early voting periods are “non-traditional” voting methods that have grown increasingly popular the last two decades. They became mainstream during the pandemic-skewered 2020 election.
More than 69 percent of the record-setting 159.6 million Americans who voted in 2020—101.45 million—cast ballots via these “non-traditional” methods.
More than 65 million Americans voted by mail (42 percent) and 35.8 million voted early in-person (26 percent), according to an April 2021 analysis of the 2020 election by the U.S. Census Bureau.
All 50 states offer VBM, or absentee, ballot options to widely varying degrees. Nine states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington—mail ballots to all registered voters. Local elections officials in these states can mail ballots to voters as soon as they are set for printing.
Early in-person voting, meanwhile, is allowed in 46 states. Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, and New Hampshire are the only exceptions, although all four provide VBM options.
As with VBM, there is great variation in when in-person early voting periods begin and how long they last from state to state and, in some states, from county to county.
Nine states require in-person early voting to be available at least 40 days before Election Day. At least four states schedule brief in-person early voting periods in the week before Election Day.
Of the 46 states that allow early in-person voting, 30 and the District of Columbia permit designated polling stations to open on Saturdays and Sundays.
Here is a roundup of states’ early voting dates with absentee ballot/VBM and voter registration deadlines:
— Sept. 19: PENNSYLVANIA: Early VBM and in-person voting in the Keystone State begins 50 days before Election Day—that would be Sept. 19—and continues until 5 p.m. the Monday before Election Day, Nov. 7.
In other words: early voting begins in Pennsylvania as soon as ballots are ready. Voter registration deadline is Oct. 24 and VBM request deadline is Nov. 1.
— Sept. 23: SOUTH DAKOTA, WYOMING, MINNESOTA: All three states are statutorily required to have early in-person voting available within 40 to 46 days of Election Day. All three end their early voting periods on Nov. 7.
The voter registration deadline in South Dakota is Oct. 24. Wyoming and Minnesota are open-registration states where residents can register to vote up to and including on Election Day. Voters can request VBM ballots until the day before the election.
— Sept. 24: VERMONT, VIRGINIA: Early voting ends in Vermont on Nov. 7 and in Virginia on Nov. 5.
Vermont is an open-registration state where voters can register to vote up to and including on Election Day. Virginia’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 17 and VMB ballot request deadline is Oct. 28.
— Sept. 29: NORTH DAKOTA, MICHIGAN, ILLINOIS: Early in-person voting ends in all three states on Nov. 7.
Illinois’ voter registration deadline is Oct. 11 and VBM ballot request deadline is Nov. 3. North Dakota and Michigan are open-registration states where residents can register to vote up to and including on Election Day.
— Oct. 9: MAINE: Early voting “begins as soon as ballots are available” 30 to 45 days before Election Day and lasts until three business days before Election Day. This year, that equates to Oct. 9 through Nov. 3.
Maine is an open-registration state where voters can register to vote up to and including on Election Day, but it impose a Nov. 3 deadline on VBM ballot requests.
— Oct. 10: CALIFORNIA: One of nine states where all eligible voters are sent a VBM ballot that can be returned by mail, or dropped off at a voter center or similar location anytime before Election Day.
California also offers a 29-day period for in-person early voting. This year that is slated for Oct. 10 to Nov. 7.
— Oct. 11: NEW MEXICO, NEBRASKA, MONTANA, INDIANA: Thirty day in-person early voting periods expire Nov. 7 in three states with a 28-day span ending Nov. 5 in New Mexico.
Montana and New Mexico are open-registration states where voters can register to vote up to and including on Election Day. New Mexico imposes a Nov. 3 deadline on VBM ballot requests.
Nebraska’s voter registration and VBM ballot request deadlines are both on Oct. 28. Indiana’a voter registration deadline is Oct. 11 and VBM ballot request deadline is Oct. 27.
— Oct. 12: ARIZONA, OHIO: Arizona’s 27-day in-person early voting period ends on Nov. 4 while Ohio’s concludes 2 p.m. on Nov. 7.
The voter registration deadline in both states is Oct. 11. Arizona’s VBM ballot request deadline is Oct. 28 and Ohio’s is Nov. 5.
— Oct. 17: GEORGIA: Early in-person voting by state statute spans the “fourth Monday prior to Election Day until the Friday before Election Day” which, this year, translates to Oct. 17 through Nov. 5.
Georgia’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 11 and the last Dayton request VBM ballots is Oct. 28.
— Oct. 18: OREGON: One of nine states where all eligible voters are sent a VBM ballot, local elections officials must begin to mail them 18 days before Election Day. This year, that is Oct. 19 according to Oregon and Oct. 21 according to Washington.
Oregon’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 18. All voters must receive VBM ballots no later than Oct. 27. Returned VBM ballots can be received through Nov, 7.
— Oct. 19: TENNESSEE, RHODE ISLAND, IOWA, KANSAS: In-person early periods end in three states on Nov. 7 and in Tennessee on Nov. 3.
Rhode Island’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 9 and VBM ballot request deadline is Oct. 18.
Tennessee’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 11 and last day to request a VBM ballot is Nov. 1. State law allows local elections officials to dispatch VBM ballots to voters up to 90 days before an election.
Kansas’ voter registration deadline is Oct. 18 and VBM ballot request deadline Nov. 1,
In Iowa, the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 8 election and to request a VBM ballot is Oct. 24.
— Oct. 20: NORTH CAROLINA: Early in-person voting period spans the “third Thursday before Election Day until 3 p.m. the Saturday before Election Day,” which equates to Oct. 20 to Nov. 5.
North Carolina’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 14 and the last day to request VBM ballots — more than 50,000 had by Sept. 9 — is Nov. 1.
— Oct. 21: WASHINGTON: An open-registration state where voters can register to vote up to and including on Election Day, Washington is one of nine states where all eligible voters are sent a VBM ballot.
Local elections officials must begin to mail VBM ballots 18 days before Election Day with in-person early voting made available on that same day.
This year, 18 days from Election Day is Oct. 21 in Washington and Oct. 19 in neighboring Oregon.
— Oct. 22: NEVADA, MASSACHUSETTS: Both states end their in-person early voting periods on Nov. 4.
An open-registration state where voters can register to vote up to and including on Election Day, Nevada is one of nine states where all eligible voters are sent a VBM ballot.
Massachusetts’ voter registration deadline is Oct. 19 and last day to request a VBM ballot is Nov. 1.
— Oct. 24: COLORADO, TEXAS, SOUTH CAROLINA, IDAHO, ARKANSAS, ALASKA, FLORIDA: Early in-person voting extends to the day before Election Day in four — Colorado, Arkansas, Alaska, Idaho — of these seven states, until Nov. 4 in Idaho and Texas, and until Nov. 5 in Florida.
Colorado is an open-registration state where voters can register to vote up to and including on Election Day and is also among nine states where all eligible voters are sent a VBM ballot.
In South Carolina, the voter registration deadline is Oct. 7 and VBM ballot request deadline is Oct. 28. In Arkansas, the voter registration deadline is Oct. 11 and VBM ballot request deadline is Nov. 1.
In Alaska, the voter registration deadline is Oct. 9 and VBM ballot request deadline is Oct. 29. In Texas, the voter registration deadline is Oct. 11 and the last day to readiest a VBM ballot is Oct. 28.
In Idaho, the voter registration deadline is Oct. 14 and VBM ballot request deadline is Oct. 17. County clerks are required to mail VBM ballots by Sept. 23
In Florida, state statute requires in-person early voting for 11 to 15 days before Election Day. Each county elections supervisor can offer up to six more days of early voting beginning no sooner than Oct. 24 and no later than Oct. 29.
— Oct. 25: LOUISIANA, UTAH, HAWAII, WISCONSIN, MISSOURI: These five states are required by state law to open in-person early voting 14 days before Election Day with Louisiana closing its early voting on Nov. 1, Utah Nov. 4, Wisconsin Nov. 5, and Hawaii and Missouri on Nov. 7.
Louisiana’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 11 and its last date to request a VBM ballot is Nov. 4. Wisconsin’s voter registration deadline is Nov. 4 and its last date to request a VBM ballot is Nov. 6. In Missouri, the voter registration deadline is Oct. 12 and the VBM ballot request deadline is Oct. 26.
Utah and Hawaii are both open-registration states where residents can register to vote up to and including on Election Day and are among the nine states where all voters receive VBM ballots.
— Oct. 26: WEST VIRGINIA: The state’s 13-day in-person early voting period ends Nov. 5. Its voter registration deadline is Oct. 18 and last day to request a VBM ballot is
— Oct. 27: MARYLAND: Maryland’s in-person early voting span “begins the second Thursday before Election Day and ends the Thursday before Election Day.” Which equates to Oct. 27 to Nov. 3. The stat’e voter registration deadline is Oct. 18 and VBM ballot request deadline is Nov. 1.
— Oct. 28: DELAWARE: The state’s in-person early voting period begins “at least 10 days before Election Day” which, this year, means Oct. 28 to Nov. 5. An open-registration state where residents can register to up to and including on Election Day, the state is required to begin mailing VBM ballots beginning Oct. 10 begin to those who request them.
—Oct. 29: NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY: New York is required to have at least 10 days of in-person early voting while New Jersey can offer up to 45 days. As of Sept. 14, elections officials in both states list Oct. 29 as the date in-person early voting begins.
In New York, early voting ends Nov. 6. The state’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 14 and VBM ballot request deadline is Nov. 7.
In New Jersey, early voting ends Nov. 5. The state’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 18 and VBM ballot request deadline is Nov. 7.
— Nov. 2: OKLAHOMA: Early voting begins later in the Sooner State than all but one of the 46 states that allow the practice, kicking off the Wednesday before Election says and ending at 2 p.m. on the Saturday before Election Day.
Oklahoma’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 14 and the last day to request VBM ballots is Oct. 24.
— Nov. 3: KENTUCKY: In-person early voting begins the Thursday before Election Day and ends the Saturday before Election Day, which equates to Nov. 3-5. The three-day span is the shortest early voting period in the nation.
Kentucky’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 11 and its VBM ballot request deadline is Oct. 25.
