When Can You Start Early Voting? Here’s A Handy State-By-State Guide.

Three states have already opened their polls to residents who want to cast their ballots before the primary election.

While next week’s Iowa Caucuses mark the official beginning of the 2020 election season, voters in Minnesota, Michigan, and Vermont already have the opportunity to cast their ballots—thanks to early voting.

Early voting laws, which vary state to state, are intended to make it easier for people to exercise the right to pick their own elected officials. Proponents believe flexibility will lead to more voters showing up to the polls, though evidence suggests these laws actually have little effect on overall turnout. 

But it’s difficult to deny the convenience factor. Yet, like so many other things, early voting has become subject to partisan, political warfare in recent years.

Over the past decade, lawmakers have successfully limited the opportunity to vote early in 10 states, including Florida, Georgia, and Ohio. Experts say this work is just one part of an ongoing attack on voting rights.

Since the 2010 elections, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, 15 states have enacted more restrictive voter ID laws; 12 have made it harder for citizens to register to vote; and three have made it more difficult to restore voting rights for those with past criminal convictions. In total, 25 states have implemented some form of voting restrictions in the past decade. 

Such efforts have been led almost entirely by Republicans, who say these laws help save money and prevent voter fraud—the latter of which has been repeatedly debunked and proven to be a myth. The real reason, some say, is more nakedly partisan.

The U.S. has one of the lowest turnout rates of any developed country in the world, according to the Pew Research Center.

“Since there’s a perception that a method of voting favors a political party, the party being favored by that method wish to expand that option, and the party that is being disfavored wishes to shrink or diminish those options,” Michael McDonald, an associate professor at the University of Florida and early voting expert, told Vox in 2018.

In other words, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to vote early, which is why Democrats want to protect and expand the right to vote early while Republicans want to suppress it.

Those battles are likely to continue in 2020, but early voting is and remains an option for millions of Americans. In 2016, a record 47 million people submitted their ballots before Election Day. That number could rise this year, thanks to an expected record turnout.

In total, 39 states and the District of Columbia currently offer early voting or in-person absentee voting without requiring an excuse or justification. In-person absentee voting requires voters to apply for an absentee ballot, which they can then fill out and cast in person at a voting location, rather than returning it through the mail. 

Five states—Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington—conduct all their voting by mail, with a handful of in-person polling locations.

If this seems confusing and byzantine, it’s because it is. Every state determines its own election laws, voting requirements, and election dates. Certain states, like Wisconsin, even allow individual municipalities to determine early voting dates and hours. 

It’s likely that such an incredibly complicated voting system has led to the U.S. having one of the lowest turnout rates of any developed country in the world, according to the Pew Research Center.

To help you better navigate how you can exercise your right to vote during presidential primary season, we’ve broken down important dates you need to put on your calendar, and included which states offer early and “no excuse” in-person absentee voting. 

To check your registration or request an absentee ballot, visit your state elections website or Vote.org for more information.

• Alabama – Primaries on March 3
• Alaska – Electronic and Absentee Voting March 3 – March 24 | Democratic Party-Run Primary on April 4
• Arizona – Early Voting Feb. 19 – March 13 | Democratic Primary on March 17
• Arkansas – Early Voting Feb. 17 – March 2 | Primaries on March 3
• California – Early Voting Feb. 3 – March 2 | Primary on March 3 
• Colorado* – Ballots mailed week of Feb. 10 | Primary on March 3
• Connecticut – Primaries on April 28
• Delaware – Primaries on April 28
• District of Columbia – Republican Convention on March 12 | Early Voting May 22 – May 29 | Democratic Primary on June 2
• Florida – Early Voting March 7 – March 14 | Primaries on March 17
• Georgia – Early Voting March 2 – March 20 | Primaries on March 24
• Hawaii* – Ballots mailed around March 17 | Democratic Party-Run Primary on April 4
• Idaho – In-Person Absentee Voting Feb. 24 – March 6 | Primaries on March 10 
• Illinois – Early Voting Feb. 6 – March 16 | Primaries on March 17
• Indiana – In-Person Absentee Voting April 7 – May 4 | Primaries on May 5
• Iowa – Caucus on Feb. 3
• Kansas – Mail-In Voting March 30 – April 24 | Democratic Party-Run Primary on May 2
• Kentucky – Republican Caucus on March 7 | Democratic Primary on May 19
• Louisiana – Early Voting March 21-28 | Primaries on April 4
• Maine – In-Person Absentee Voting Feb. 3 – Feb. 27 | Primaries on March 3
• Maryland – Early Voting April 16 – April 23 | Primaries on April 28
• Massachusetts – Early Voting Feb. 24 – Feb. 28 | Primaries on March 3 
• Michigan – In-Person Absentee Voting open now through March 9 | Primaries on March 10  
• Minnesota – In-Person Absentee Voting open now through March 2 | Primaries on March 3 
• Mississippi – Primaries on March 10
• Missouri – Primaries on March 10 
• Montana – In-Person Absentee Voting May 4 – June 1 | Primaries on June 2
• Nebraska – Early Voting April 13 – May 11 | Primaries on May 12
• Nevada – Early Voting Feb. 15 – Feb. 18 | Democratic Caucus on Feb. 22
• New Hampshire – Primaries on Feb. 11
• New Jersey – In-Person Absentee Voting April 18 – June 1 | Primaries on June 2
• New Mexico – Early Voting May 5 – May 29 | Primaries on June 2
• New York – Early Voting April 18 – April 26 | Primaries on April 28
• North Carolina – Early Voting Feb 13 – Feb 29 | Primaries on March 3
• North Dakota – Democratic Party-Run Primary on March 10 | Republican Convention April 3
• Ohio – In-Person Absentee Voting Feb. 19 – March 16 | Primaries on March 17
• Oklahoma – In-Person Absentee Voting Feb. 27 – Feb. 29 | Primaries on March 3
• Oregon* – Ballots mailed April 29 | Primaries on May 19
• Pennsylvania – Primaries on April 28
• Rhode Island – Primaries on April 28
• South Carolina – Democratic Primary on Feb. 29
• South Dakota – In-Person Absentee Voting April 27 – June 1 | Primaries on June 2
• Tennessee – Early Voting Feb. 12 – Feb. 25 | Primaries on March 3
• Texas – Early Voting Feb. 18 – Feb .28 | Primaries on March 3 
• Utah* – Ballots mailed week of Feb. 11 | Early Voting Feb. 18 – Feb. 28 | Primaries on March 3 
• Vermont – In-Person Absentee Voting open now through March 2 | Primaries on March 3 
• Virginia – Democratic Primary on March 3 
• Washington* – Ballots Mailed And In-Person Absentee Voting begins Feb. 21 | Primaries on March 10
• West Virginia – Early Voting April 29 – May 9 | Primaries on May 12
• Wisconsin – In-Person Absentee Voting varies based on municipality | Primaries on April 7
• Wyoming – Democratic Caucus on April 4 | Republican Convention May 7

Clarification: The dates listed above for presidential primaries. Some states host separate primary elections for other federal, state, and local offices.