US Elections 2024: Early in-person voting begins – All you need to know

US Elections 2024: Early voting, or early in-person voting, started on September 21 in multiple US states before the official election scheduled for November 5, according to a Bloomberg report. Minnesota, South Dakota, and Virginia are among the states that have started the process, with others expected to begin in October, it added.

Voters will mostly choose between Democratic presidential nominee and United States Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee and former US President Donald Trump. There are also other non-bipartisan candidates on the ballot, the most prominent being Green Party's Jill Stein.

What is early in-person voting?

According to the government's official information and services website, maintained by the US General Services Administration, “Early voting allows you to vote in person before Election Day. Sometimes circumstances make it hard or impossible for you to vote on Election Day. But most states let you vote in person during a designated early voting period.”

Each state has its own voting procedures: early voting by mail or in person, election day voting or a combination of the three, as per an AFP report.

Most states in the US let voters cast their ballot in person during a designated early voting period. While some states require an “excuse”, some others do not.

Can you vote early in your state?

As per information on the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) website, as of August 2024, 47 out of 52 states in the US and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, allow for early in-person voting. The rest three states Alabama, New Hampshire, and Mississippi, do not allow early in-person voting.

You can check out specific details for each state here - https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/early-in-person-voting

Requirements for Early Voting

As per the information and services website, in most states, voters do not need an excuse to vote early. However, some states may require voters to request an absentee ballot to be able to vote early.

"Depending on your state, you may need to check under "absentee voting" if you do not see information listed for early voting," it added.

To check these requirements, you can click here and search for specific states - https://www.usa.gov/state-election-office

What Voters Say On Ground

“You just feel that we're part of the process”, Tom Kilkenny (56) from Arlington, Virginia, told AFP while queuing up for early voting. His wife, Michelle Kilkenny (55), sporting a T-shirt adorned with Democratic party pins said she is “happy to set a good example for her friends and neighbours” by voting early and hopes to spread the word.

Nick Vucic (38) was at the Arlington polling station with his wife, Becca, and their three daughters. he told AFP, “We want them to be engaged as soon as possible.”

Another voter, Ann Spiker (71), expressed worry over the election outcome and said she was voting early to do “what we can”. “I can't believe we can pick Donald Trump, when I think about it, I become very worried. That's why we're out and doing what we can,” Spiker told AFP.

But, the Trump supporters were also out for early voting.  Arthur Stewart (58), told AFP he voted for Trump, adding, “He already has a record with the economy when he was here before, and I believe he's going to continue that. One of the other issues is the border and the security of the border. He was very good at that. I just wanted to make sure that I voted early, in case there was some issue with fraud this time,” he said. Stewart was referring to Trump's lie that the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won, was “stolen”.

(With inputs from Agencies)