2018 advance poll: state-by-state guide

While the mid-term elections of 2018 will officially take place on November 6, many voters will vote in advance through early voting.

Advance voting laws are supposed to help people go to the polls more easily. But like other attempts to broaden access to the vote, they have often become a new political battlefield.

Some 37 states, including those who send ballot papers to electors, and the District of Columbia now allow citizens to vote before polling day. (You will find a complete list, with early voting dates, at the end of this article.) In 1980, about 4 million ballots were cast prior to the elections; In 2016, more than 47 million people voted in advance.

According to his supporters, early voting is simple: by offering citizens more voting options, whether by mail or in person before the election, this makes it easier for them. They can avoid long lines on polling day and choose a more convenient time for them.

After Barack Obama's campaign took the lead in advance voting in 2008, some legislatures of Republican-majority states limited early voting in 2012; efforts to limit early voting are still underway in North Carolina. There were also other objections, such as that citizens end up making their choices before having all the information.

With early voting in many states, you will likely hear more in the days and weeks ahead – what happens, what does it mean, who is it for? Early voting can be a misleading indicator of who will actually win the election. But the fight over whether it should be expanded is much more important – part of a larger battle over the ease or difficulty of voting in the United States.

Advance voting is becoming more commonplace

Historically, early voting is not a new phenomenon.

Michael McDonald, associate professor at the University of Florida and expert in advance voting, explained in HuffPost in 2017 that when the United States was created, the vote was held over several days so that Rural voters have enough time to go to the polls. . The federal government set a day – the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November – to vote in 1845. However, in wartime, the military was allowed to send ballots and, little by little, ordinary citizens have also acquired this faculty.

McDonald explains:

In 1980, California paved the way for the modern resurgence of early voting by removing the requirement for a voter to provide an excuse to vote by mail. Since then, California and other states, mainly Western, have innovated in the status of postal voting and all mail-order elections. Any qualified voter may apply and vote by mail at his local polling station. Meanwhile, in the East, Florida, Tennessee and Texas extended advance in-person voting to special satellite polling stations in 1996.

The federal law setting a uniform voting day is still in force, so why is early voting legal? In 2001, as part of a challenge to Oregon's absentee absentee vote, a federal court ruled that elections must be "consumed" on polling day. Until election officers count votes before polling day, early voting is legal.

Voters are increasingly benefiting from the possibility of voting before November: in the 2016 election, around one-third of the total vote was cast in advance. Early voter turnout up here in states such as Texas and Florida this year indicates that it could be higher in 2018 compared to past mid-term elections.

Voting before polling day may involve certain risks. The decision of FBI director James Comey to reopen the investigation on the use of a private server by Hillary Clinton, and his announcement two days before polling day that nothing new n & # 39; 39, had been found, all this happened after the start of early voting in some states in 2016. (The decision of Comey Nate Silver, of FiveThirtyEight, claims that the elections probably cost Clinton.)

Eugene Kontorovich, a professor at George Mason's Antonin Scalia Law School, explained in an article published for Politico in 2014 that John McGinnis, a professor at Northwestern University, claimed that early voting is bad and that it's not going to happen. it "threatens the fundamental nature of the choice of citizens". those who vote early do not have all the information, and last-minute information about the elections could potentially cause them to change their minds.

He stands at this point of view: "The practical concern is that people vote on different types of information as politics evolves faster and faster and the media moves faster and faster," Kontorovich said. "Something important is coming late, and people who voted early will not be aware of this information."

Voting early has become a partisan battle in some states

The Obama campaign focused on early voting in 2008, which gave him an edge over John McCain. In several generally important states during presidential elections, including Florida, Obama was defeated among voters who voted on polling day, but was elected following an advance poll.

Immediately following this election, some Republican-controlled legislatures attempted to roll back early voting and otherwise restrict access to the vote. Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee all limited early voting in 2012 compared to 2008, often arguing that the measures were too expensive. Ohio and Nebraska followed suit before the 2016 election.

"Typically, there will be some kind of version of an argument that [early voting] uses local resources, that advance voting is expensive, that few people use it at any given time, "said Jonathan Brater, legal advisor of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. But in his opinion, these arguments do not add up often. "It will reduce the burden and other things draining resources on polling day."

According to some, the real motive was partisan: "Since we have the impression that a voting method favors a political party, the party favored by this method wishes to widen this option and the underprivileged party wishes to reduce or diminish these options. options, "McDonald said.

In other words, he said: "It's controversial because Democrats tend to vote early. It's essentially the end result. "

Some states still trying to limit early voting – and President Trump warns against fraud

This year, some states are still trying to reduce early voting. In June, the Republican-controlled legislature in North Carolina passed a law stipulating that advance polling sites must remain open during office hours, on weekdays, from 7 am to 7 pm Although, at first glance, this seems logical, the law has resulted in counties having removed the advance polls to accommodate long working hours. NPR estimated that this would reduce the number of advance polls by almost 20%.

This is not the first time that North Carolina's election laws have raised eyebrows. In 2016, a federal appeal board overturned the 2013 provisions that excluded most forms of photo ID, with the exception of driver's licenses, to reduce the number of votes outside the office and eliminate a week of advance voting, believing that they "targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision." "

The court's decision was notified after the North Carolina general assembly obtained data indicating that black voters "disproportionately used the first seven days" of the advance poll. They amended a bill to reduce the number of advance voting days from 17 to 10.

The legislature has also passed a bill that will prevent early voting sites from opening on the Saturday before the elections. It will enter into force after the 2018 sessions.

"The last Saturday before the elections is quite important because some research indicates that, especially for minority voters, the weekend before polling is the most critical early voting period," Brater said.

President Donald Trump also seemed somewhat skeptical about early voting. Trump made false claims of widespread election fraud in the 2016 election and set up a commission now disbanded to consider it. He tweeted over the weekend that law enforcement and the government are monitoring election fraud during early voting. "Cheat at your own risk," he wrote.

Fears about electoral fraud do not make much sense in the context of early voting, experts said: Election fraud is extremely rare in the United States, including with respect to early voting. "This is not a good rationale for voter identification, but it would make even less sense in the context of early voting," Brater said.

But the trend was not totally against early voting. Some states have voted to extend advance voting rights, such as Utah, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Oklahoma. "It stresses that not all states consider it partisan," said Brater. "There is still a bipartisan consensus that some of these voting reforms can be helpful for everyone."

Until now, Republicans outnumber Democrats by voting early, according to initial data. This could change as some states have not opened the mail ballot and have not yet begun allowing advance polls in person. A trend that will probably not change, however, is the continued growth of advance polls: more people voted in advance than in 2016, although participation in mid-term elections is generally lower than in the presidential elections.

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Advance voting laws are different in each state – and sometimes, as in Wisconsin, determined by the city or county. Currently, 37 states offer some form of advance voting. Here are the rules in each state:

Alabama

Alabama does not vote early and voters need an excuse approved by the state to vote by mail.

Alaska

Advance and face-to-face voting began on October 22.

Arizona

The Arizona advance voting period runs from October 10 to November 2.

Arkansas

Early voting and mail voting in person will run from October 22 to November 5.

California

Early voting in California varies by country.

Colorado

Colorado now votes by mail, but voters can register and vote in person starting October 22.

Connecticut

Connecticut does not vote early and voters need an excuse approved by the state to vote by mail.

Delaware

Delaware has no advance vote, and voters need an excuse approved by the state to vote by mail.

District of Colombia

Early voting began on October 22 and ends on November 2.

Florida

Early voting must start from October 27 to November 3. Some counties can start as early as October 22nd.

Georgia

Advance voting varies from one county to another, from October 15 to November 2, including Saturday, October 27.

Hawaii

Advance voting begins on October 23 and is available until November 3.

Idaho

Advance voting varies from one county to another, but counties that proceed to advance voting must start on October 22nd. Early voting ends on November 2nd.

Illinois

Advance voting begins on September 27 and ends on November 5. The exact dates and times are determined locally.

Indiana

Early voting begins on October 10 at the county election council office or polling station.

Iowa

Advance voting begins on October 8 and is available until November 5.

Kansas

Advance polls vary by country but can start as early as 17 October. The last day to vote early is November 5th at noon.

Kentucky

Kentucky does not have advance voting. Missing voters can vote early with a state-approved excuse.

Louisiana

Advance voting begins on October 23 and is available until October 30.

Maine

Voters can vote a postal vote in person as soon as ballots are available, 30 to 45 days before the election, until the election officer's office until Thursday, November 1 st. Here you will find information on where and when to vote.

Maryland

Advance voting begins on October 25th and is open until November 1st.

Massachusetts

Advance polls are available in Massachusetts from October 22 to November 2.

Michigan

Michigan does not vote early and asks voters to have an excuse approved by the state to vote by mail.

Minnesota

The advance vote in 2018 will take place from September 21st to November 5th.

Mississippi

Mississippi does not have advance voting and asks voters to have an excuse approved by the state to vote by mail.

Missouri

Missouri does not vote early and asks voters to have an excuse approved by the state to vote by mail.

Montana

Early voting begins on October 9th.

Nebraska

Early voting begins on October 7 and ends on November 5. The deadline for returning ballots by mail in person is November 6th.

Nevada

Early voting runs from October 20th to November 2nd.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire does not have an advance vote. Missing voters need an excuse approved by the state.

New Jersey

Advance voting begins on September 22, the date on which postal ballots are sent. It ends on November 5th.

New Mexico

The advance vote this year is from October 20th to November 3rd.

New York

New York does not vote early and absent voters must have an excuse approved by the state.

North Carolina

The advance vote in 2018 runs from October 17 to November 3.

North Dakota

The mail ballots are available from September 27, 2018. In some constituencies, the in-person vote will begin on October 22. You can find the dates and places here.

Ohio

In-person advance voting begins October 10th.

Oklahoma

The advance vote this year will take place from November 1st to 3rd.

Oregon

Oregon is a state by vote. The ballots were posted this year starting October 17th. Voters can find where and when to cast their ballots here.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania does not vote early and absent voters need an apology approved by the state.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island does not vote early and absent voters need an excuse approved by the state.

Caroline from the south

South Carolina does not have advance voting and absent voters need a state-approved excuse.

South Dakota

Early voting begins on September 21st of this year.

Tennessee

The advance vote will take place this year from October 17th to November 5th.

Texas

Early voting this year is from October 22nd to November 2nd.

Utah

Early voting begins 14 days before the election and ends the previous Friday – in 2018, from October 23 to November 2. Election officials may extend early voting until the day before the election.

Vermont

Advance voting begins 45 days before the election; this year is September 21st.

Virginia

Virginia does not vote early. Missing voters need an excuse approved by the state.

Washington

Washington is a state to vote by mail and begins accepting ballots 18 days before the elections, or this year, October 19th.

West Virginia

October 24 to November 3.

Wisconsin

Varies according to the municipalities. (Historically, the law states that it begins on the third Monday preceding the elections, but due to an ongoing lawsuit, municipalities may decide when to start the advance poll and vote by default. )

Wyoming

Voters can vote by postal vote in person at the County Clerk's office starting 40 days before an election or, this year, starting September 21.