State Laws Governing Early Voting
By: Kristin Sullivan, Chief Analyst
May 11, 2021 | 2021-R-0098

Issue
Discuss early voting, including the type of early voting available in states that offer it and the lengthof their early, in-person voting period. This updates OLR Report 2018-R-0278. It does notcontemplate any temporary changes to election laws made in response to COVID-19. This reporthas been updated by OLR Report 2023-R-0018.

Summary
Forty-four states and Washington D.C. allow all registered voters to cast a ballot in-person before
Election Day. (Delaware’s law becomes effective in 2022.) Currently, the following six states do notallow all registered voters to cast a ballot in-person before Election Day without providing a valid
reason: Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
Under these “early voting” laws, voters need not provide a reason for voting before Election Day
and they have the opportunity to cast their ballot in person—usually at an election official’s office orat a satellite voting location. (Under the other main form of pre-Election Day voting, regularabsentee voting, voters must provide a valid reason for why they are unable to vote on the day ofthe election.)
Classifying a state’s form of early voting is not always straightforward as there is no universal
definition of “early voting.” State laws vary with respect to their early voting policies and theterminology they use to describe them. Nonetheless, election experts typically group these laws asfollows: (1) early in-person voting; (2) in-person, no-excuse absentee voting; and (3) all-mail voting(often known as vote-by-mail).
www.cga.ct.gov/olrOLRequest@cga.ct.gov

Connecticut General Assembly
Office of Legislative Research
Stephanie A. D’Ambrose, Director(860) 240-8400
Room 5300
Legislative Office BuildingGenerally, early in-person voting is when voters appear in-person at one or more designatedlocations to vote before Election Day. Voters follow the same procedures that apply on Election Day
and ballots are treated as regular ballots.
In-person, no-excuse absentee voting is when voters cast absentee ballots in-person, rather than bymail, before Election Day. In-person absentee ballots are usually subject to counting procedures
applicable to absentee ballots, such as signature verification.
Finally, vote-by-mail is when every registered voter automatically receives a ballot by mail before
Election Day. Because voters generally have the option of casting their ballot early and in-person at
a voting center or returning it at a designated drop-off location, election experts often include thesestates as states with an early voting option.
Some states offer more than one type of early voting. Alaska, for example, offers both early inperson voting and in-person absentee voting. California offers in-person absentee voting to every
registered voter; some counties additionally offer early in-person voting.

Early Voting Laws and Periods
States’ early voting periods range in length from three days to 45 days; they begin as early as 46days before the election and as late as the Thursday before it. Twenty-four states and Washington
D.C. offer early voting on Saturdays or Sundays, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures (NCSL). Some states authorize local election officials, such as county clerks, to decide
whether to offer early voting on Saturdays or Sundays.
Table 1 identifies each state’s form of early voting, as well as the start and end dates of its early inperson voting period. Please note, early voting may not span the entire duration of the designatedperiod. For example, within a given state, hours and days may vary by county. In some states, if theprescribed start date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the early voting period begins on
the next regular business day (e.g., Texas).
The information in Table 1 applies to statewide general elections; early voting periods for primaries
or local elections may differ. Concerning absentee voting, the table applies only to no-excuse
absentee voting; it does not apply to regular absentee voting, which, as described above, requires
voters to provide a reason, or “excuse,” to vote early.

2021-R-0098

May 11, 2021

Page 2 of 8

Table 1: Early Voting Laws and Periods
StateForm of Voting

Period Starts

Early in-person voting andin-person absentee voting

15 days before election

Day of election

Early in-person voting

27 days before

Friday before election

Early in-person voting

15 days before

Monday before election

California
Cal. Elec. Code §§ 3001
and 3018

Early in-person voting andin-person absentee voting(may vary by county)

As early as 29 days
before the election(according to theSecretary of State’s
Office, in practice, mostcounties offer it for 14
days before the election)

Day of election

Colorado
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 1-5102.9 and 1-7.5-104

All-mail voting (with earlyin-person voting option)

Voter service and polling
centers (VSPCs) must be
open for the 15 days
before an election, fordropping off ballots orvoting in person; VSPCs
are not required to beopen on Sundays

Day of election

DelawareDel. Code Ann. tit, 15, §5402*

Early in-person voting

At least 10 days beforeelection

Sunday before election

Early in-person voting andin-person absentee voting

10 days before election
for in-person early voting;
15 days prior for in-person
absentee voting

Day before election

AlaskaPeriod Ends

Alaska Stat. §§ 15.20.061,
15.20.064, and Alaska
Admin. Code tit. 6, §25.500
Arizona
Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-541
and 16-542
ArkansasArk. Code Ann. § 7-5-418(Effective January 1, 2022)

District of Columbia
D.C. Code § 1-1001.09
and D.C. Mun. Regs., tit.
3, § 702

2021-R-0098

May 11, 2021

Page 3 of 8

Table 1 (continued)
StateFlorida

Form of Voting

Period Starts

Period Ends

Early in-person voting

10 days before election(may begin 11 to 15 days
before a state or federal
election, at the discretionof the county electionssupervisor)

Three days beforeelection(may end two days before
a state or federal election,at the discretion of thecounty elections
supervisor)

In-person absentee voting

Fourth Monday beforeelection

Friday before election

All-mail voting (with earlyin-person voting option)

Voter service centersmust be open starting 10
business days before anelection, for dropping offballots or voting in person

Day of election

In-person absentee voting(may vary by county)

On or before the third
Monday before election

Friday before election

Early in-person voting

40 days before election;
permanent early voting
locations must be open atleast 15 days beforeelection

Day before election

In-person absentee

28 days before election

Day before election

In-person absentee

29 days before election

Day before election

Fla. Stat. §101.657

GeorgiaGa. Code §§ 21-2-380,
and 21-2-385
Hawaii2019 Haw. Sess. Laws
Act 136
Idaho
Idaho Code §§ 34-1001
and 34-1012
Illinois
10 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/19A5, 5/19A-15, and 5/19A-25
IndianaInd. Code §§ 3-11-4-1 and3-11-10-26
Iowa
Iowa Code §§ 53.10 and53.11

2021-R-0098

May 11, 2021

Page 4 of 8

Table 1 (continued)
StateKansas

Form of Voting

Period Starts

Early in-person voting

Tuesday before election,or up 20 days beforeelection (varies by county)

Day before election

Early in-person voting

Thursday before election

Saturday before election

Early in-person voting

14 days before election

7 days before election

In-person absentee voting

As soon as absentee
ballots are ready (30-45days before election)

Three business days
before election, unless thevoter has an acceptableexcuseEarly in-person voting

Second Thursday before
election

Thursday before election

Early in-person voting

11 business days beforeelection

Two business days beforeelection

In-person absentee voting

40 days before election

Day before election

In-person absentee voting

46 days before election

Day before election

In-person absentee voting

30 days before electionDay before election

Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 251122 and 25-1123
Kentucky

Period Ends

HB 574 (2021)
Louisiana
La. Rev. Stat. §§ 18:1303
and 18:1309
Maine
Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 21-A §§751, 753-B(2), and 753B(8)MarylandMd. Code, Elec. Law, §10-301.1
Massachusetts
Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch.
54 § 25B
MichiganMich. Const. art. II, § 4Minnesota
Minn. Stat. Ann. §§203B.081 and 203B.085
MontanaMont. Code Ann. §§ 1313-205 and 13-13-222

2021-R-0098

May 11, 2021

Page 5 of 8

Table 1 (continued)
StateNebraska

Form of Voting

Period Starts

Period Ends

In-person absentee voting

30 days before election

Day before election

Early in-person voting

Third Saturday beforeelection

Friday before election

In-person absentee voting

45 days before election

Day before election

Early in-person voting andin-person absentee voting

Third Saturday before
election for early voting;
28 days before election
for in-person absenteevoting
10 days before election

Saturday before election

Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 32-808
and 32-938
NevadaNev. Rev. Stat. § 293.356
et seq.
New Jersey
N.J. Stat. Ann. § 19:63-1
et seq.
New Mexico
N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 1-6-5.7
and 1-6-5(F)New York

Early in-person voting

Two days before election

N. Y. Elec. Law Title VI, §8-600
North Carolina

In-person absentee

Third Wednesday beforeelection

Saturday before election

North Dakota

Early in-person voting

15 days before election

Day before election

N.D. Cent. Code § 16.107-15
Ohio

In-person absentee voting

Day after the close of
voter registration

Day before election

Ohio Rev. Code §§3509.01 and 3509.05
Oklahoma

In-person absentee voting

Thursday before election

Saturday before election

N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §163-227.2

Okla. Stat. Ann. tit, 26§14-115.4

2021-R-0098

May 11, 2021

Page 6 of 8

Table 1 (continued)
StateForm of Voting

Period Starts

All mail voting (with earlyin-person voting option)

Drop sites must open the
Friday before an election
but may open as soon as
ballots are available

Day of election

In-person absentee voting

50 days before election

Tuesday before election

In-person absentee
voting1

20 days before election

Day of election

R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-20-2
South Dakota

In-person absentee voting

46 days before electionDay before the election

S. D. Codified Laws §§12-19-1.2 and 12-19-2.1
Tennessee

Early in-person voting

20 days before election

Five days before election

Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-6102
Texas

Early in-person voting

17 days before election

Four days before election

All mail voting (with earlyin-person voting option)

14 days before election

Vermont

In-person absentee voting

45 days before election

Friday before election;
election officials may opt
to extend early voting
period to day before
election after providing
required noticeDay before election

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit.17, §§2531 to 2537
Virginia

In-person absentee voting

45 days before election

Saturday before election

OregonOr. Rev. Stat. § 254.470,
Secretary of State Rules
Pennsylvania

Period Ends

Act 77 (2019)
Rhode Island

Tex. Elec. Code §§85.001 and 85.002
UtahUtah Code Ann. § 20A3a-601 et seq.

VA Code Ann. §§ 24.2700 and -701.1

1 On Rhode Island’s mail ballot application, a voter may indicate that he or she “may not be able to vote” at his or her polling place on

the day of the election; the State Board of Elections website indicates that this is no-excuse absentee voting.

2021-R-0098

May 11, 2021

Page 7 of 8Table 1 (continued)
StateForm of Voting

Period Starts

All mail voting (with earlyin-person voting option)

Vote centers must open
18 days before election

Day of election

Wash. Rev. Code §§29A.40.010 and
29A.40.160
West Virginia

Early in-person voting

13 days before election

Three days beforeelection

W. Va. Code § 3-3-3
Wisconsin

In-person absentee voting

14 days before election

Sunday before election

Wis. Stat. Ann. § 6.86
Wyoming

In-person absentee voting

40 days before election

Day of electionWashington

Period Ends

Wyo. Stat. § 22-9-101 etseq.
SOURCES: NCSL, U.S. Vote Foundation, and Secretaries of StateNOTE: For purposes of this table, “absentee voting” refers to no-excuse absentee voting; it does not refer to regular absentee voting,which requires voters to provide a reason, or “excuse,” to vote early.

KS:kc2021-R-0098

May 11, 2021

Page 8 of 8