There are 67 days left until Election Day, Tuesday, November 5.
But if Americans vote as they did 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, and seven battleground states will send ballots to at least some voters the same month.
This makes the next few months less of a countdown to Election Day and more the start of “election season.”
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Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, such as members of the military or people with medical conditions.
In some states, nearly all voters cast their ballots by mail.
Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in person.
That year, Fox News' voter analysis found that 71% of voters cast ballots before Election Day, 30% voted early in person and 41% voted by mail.
Early voting remained popular in the midterm elections, with 57% of voters casting ballots before Election Day.
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A voter fills out a ballot in Lake Orion, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Election officials stress that early voting is safe. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election revealed no evidence of widespread fraud or corruption.
The difference between in-person early voting and voting by mail or absentee.
There are a few ways to vote before Election Day.
The first one is early voting in personwhere a voter casts a regular ballot in person at a polling place before Election Day.
The second is mail-in ballotwhere the process and eligibility varies by state.
In eight states, voting is conducted primarily by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Registered voters receive and return ballots.
Most states allow any registered voter to request a mail-in ballot and send it back. This is also called voting by mail or sometimes absentee voting. Depending on the state, voters can return their ballot by mail, at a drop box, or at an office or facility that accepts mail-in ballots.
In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, which can range from illness, age, work schedule or if the voter is out of their home county on Election Day.
States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states do not begin counting ballots until election night, delaying the release of results.
Voting begins Sept. 6 in North Carolina, with seven more states holding primaries that month.
This list of early voting dates is for guidance only. For complete and up-to-date information on voting eligibility, processes, and deadlines, please visit Vote.gov and your state's elections website.
The first voters to receive absentee ballots will be those in North Carolina, which will begin mailing ballots to eligible voters on Sept. 6.
Seven more battleground states open early voting the same month, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.
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The first voters cast their ballots in Ferndale, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
September deadlines
Early voting in person in bold.
September 6th
- North Carolina – Absentee ballots sent to voters
September 16th
- Pennsylvania – Mail-in ballots sent to voters
September 17th
- Georgia – Absentee ballots sent to military and people overseas
September 19th
- Wisconsin – Absentee ballots have been sent out
September 20th
- Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming: Absentee ballots sent to military and people overseas
- Minnesota, South Dakota – In-person absentee voting begins
- Virginia – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia: Absentee ballots sent out
September 21st
- Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington: Absentee ballots sent to military and people overseas
- Indiana, New Mexico – Absentee ballots sent out
- Maryland, New Jersey: Mail-in ballots were sent
September 23
- Mississippi – In-Person Absentee Voting Begins and absentee ballots sent
- Oregon, Vermont – Absentee ballots have been sent out
September 26th
- Illinois – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Michigan – Absentee ballots have been sent out
- Florida, Nevada – Mail-in ballots are being sent
- North Dakota – Absentee and mail-in ballots are being sent out
September 30th
- Nebraska – Mail-in ballots are being sent
October deadlines
October 4th
- Connecticut – Absentee ballots have been sent out
October 6th
- Michigan – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Maine – In-person absentee voting begins and mail-in ballots sent
- California – In-Person Absentee Voting Begins and mail-in ballots sent
- Montana – In-Person Absentee Voting Begins
- Nebraska – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Georgia – Absentee ballots are being sent out
- Massachusetts – Mail-in ballots are being sent
October 8th
- California – Ballot Drop-Off Opens
- New Mexico, Ohio – In-person absentee voting begins
- Indiana – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Wyoming – In-Person Absentee Voting Begins and absentee ballots sent
October 9th
- Arizona – In-Person Early Voting Begins and mail-in ballots sent
October 11th
- Colorado – Mail-in ballots are being sent
- Arkansas, Alaska – Absentee ballots sent out
October 15th
- Georgia – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Utah – Mail-in ballots are being sent
October 16th
- Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee: In-person early voting begins
- Iowa – In-Person Absentee Voting Begins
- Oregon, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent out
October 17th
- North Carolina – In-Person Early Voting Begins
October 18th
- Washington, Louisiana – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Hawaii: Mail-in ballots are being sent out
October 19th
- Nevada, Massachusetts – In-Person Early Voting Begins
- Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas: In-person early voting begins
- Colorado – Ballot deliveries open
October 22
- Hawaii, Utah: In-person early voting begins
- Missouri, Wisconsin – In-person absentee voting begins
October 23
- 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 Absentee Voting Begins
