Absentee and Early Voting

Most states have a method for any eligible voter to cast a ballot before Election Day, either during the early voting period or by requesting an absentee ballot. In 12 states, early voting is not available and an excuse is required to request an absentee ballot. 

States can choose to provide three ways for voters to cast a ballot before Election Day:

1. Early Voting: In 38 states (including 3 that mail ballots to all voters) and the District of Columbia, any qualified voter may cast a ballot in person during a designated period prior to Election Day. No excuse or justification is required.
2. Absentee Voting: All states will mail an absentee ballot to certain voters who request one. The voter may return the ballot by mail or in person. In 19 states, an excuse is required, while 28 states and the District of Columbia permit any qualified voter to vote absentee without offering an excuse. Some states offer a permanent absentee ballot list: once a voter asks to be added to the list, s/he will automatically receive an absentee ballot for all future elections.
3. Mail Voting: A ballot is automatically mailed to every eligible voter (no request or application is necessary). In-person voting sites may also be available for voters who would like to vote in-person and to provide additional services to voters. Three states mail ballots to all eligible voters for every election. Other states may provide this option for some types of elections.

Scroll over the map below for state-by state details.

Overview

The table below details the types of pre-election day voting that are available in each state. Information on the details of each category may be found below the table.

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, August 2017.

(a) Certain elections may be held entirely by mail. The circumstances under which all-mail elections are permitted vary from state to state.

(b) Although these states do not have Early Voting in the traditional sense, within a certain period of time before an election they do allow a voter to apply in person for an absentee ballot (without an excuse) and cast that ballot in one trip to an election official’s office. This is often known as "in-person absentee" voting.

(c) Massachusetts has Early Voting only during even-year November elections, beginning in 2016. Currently it does not permit Early Voting in primaries or municipal elections.

Early Voting

More than two-thirds of the states--38 plus the District of Columbia--offer some sort of early voting. Early voting allows voters to visit an election official’s office or, in some states, other satellite voting locations, and cast a vote in person without offering an excuse for why the voter is unable to vote on Election Day. Some states also allow voters to receive, fill out and cast their absentee ballot in person at the elections office or at a satellite location rather than returning it through through the mail. This is often reffered to as in-person absentee voting. Satellite voting locations vary by state, and may include other county and state offices (besides the election official’s office), grocery stores, shopping malls, schools, libraries, and other locations. More detailed information can be found on NCSL's State Laws Governing Early Voting page.

The time period for early voting varies from state to state:

• The date on which early voting begins may be as early as 45 days before the election, or as late as the Friday before the election. The average starting time for early voting is 22 days before the election.
• Early voting typically ends just a few days before Election Day.
• Early voting periods range in length from four days to 45 days; the average length is 19 days.

• Of the states that allow early in-person voting, 23 and the District of Columbia allow some weekend early voting. 

  • Saturday: 19 states + the District of Columbia provide for voting on Saturday. 4 additional states (California, Kansas, Vermont and Massachusetts) leave it up to county clerks who may choose to allow Saturday voting.

  • Sunday: 4 states (Alaska, Illinois, Ohio and Maryland) allow for Sunday voting. 5 states (California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Massachusetts) leave it up to county clerks who may choose to be open on Sundays. Florida mandates early voting must begin, including Sunday, the 10th day and end the 3rd day prior to the election for state and federal elections. Local election officials also have discretion to allow early voting the Sunday prior to the election.

​​Latest developments: A 2013 law reducing early voting hours in North Carolina was struck down by the The Supreme Court in August 2016. Going forward early voting in North Carolina begins on the third Thursday and ends on the last Thursday before election day.  

A 2018 ballot proposition approved by voters established in-person absentee voting in Michigan, including at least eight hours on the Saturday and/or Sunday prior to the election.

No-Excuse Absentee Voting

Absentee voting is conducted by mail-in paper ballot prior to the day of the election. States typically require that a voter fill out an application to receive an absentee ballot. Many states help facilitate this process by making absentee ballot applications available online for voters to print and send, and at least five states (Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota and Utah) permit a voter to submit an application entirely online. Arizona has some counties that have online absentee ballot applications, and in Detroit, Michigan, voters can request an absentee ballot through a smartphone app.

While all states offer some version of absentee voting, there is quite a lot of variation in states’ procedures. For instance, some states offer "no-excuse" absentee voting, allowing any registered voter to request an absentee without requiring that the voter state a reason for his/her desire to vote absentee. Some states also allow a time period before the election for voters to appear at the elections office or other designated location in person to request, fill out and cast an absentee ballot in on stop. Still other states permit voters to vote absentee only under a limited set of circumstances.

The following 28 states and D.C. offer "no-excuse" absentee voting:

Source:  National Conference of State Legislatures

Permanent Absentee Voting

Some states permit voters to join a permanent absentee voting list. Once a voter opts in, s/he will receive an absentee ballot automatically for all future elections. The states that offer permanent absentee voting to any voter are:

At least ten states offer permanent absentee status to a limited number of voters who meet certain criteria:

Mail Voting

Three states -- Oregon, Washington and Colorado -- conduct all elections by mail.  A ballot is automatically mailed to every registered voter in advance of Election Day, and traditional in-person voting precincts are not available. However these states still provide one or more locations for voters to return mail ballots, vote in-person if they would like, and receive other voter services. Learn more about each state's vote-by-mail program: Oregon, Washington, Colorado. 

Nineteen other states allow certain elections to be held by mail. More information can be found on NCSL's All-Mail Elections (aka Vote-By-Mail) webpage.

Early and Absentee Voting in Your State

Are you looking for information on how to vote early or by absentee ballot in an upcoming election?  While NCSL is not involved in holding elections and cannot provide information or advice on how, when or where to vote in your state, we are pleased to provide this link to a page which will direct you to the answers you need regarding your state's laws:  Can I Vote?

Military Voters

All states permit members of the military who are stationed overseas, their dependents, and other U.S. citizens living abroad to vote by absentee ballot.  For more information, please visit the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Additional Resources

• NCSL's State Laws Governing Early Voting page
• Article from NCSL's elections newsletter, The Canvass: Pre-Election Day Voting—Just the FAQs, Ma'am
• FVAP's Absentee and Early Voting Myths and Realities Fact Sheet
• NCSL's video Q&A with MIT's Charles Stewart III on early voting and turnout
• The Early Voting Information Center (EVIC) based at Reed College
• The U.S. Vote Foundation has state dates deadlines for requesting and returning absentee ballots, as well as state early voting periods
• Long Distance Voter, a non-profit with information on registering and voting by mail