Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Their freedom requires your slavery.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

We will not go back.

Let there be snark.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

You are here: Home / Right to Vote / Vote Like Your Country Depends On It / Early Voting In Person Sept 21: Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming

Early Voting In Person Sept 21: Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming

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Early Voting In Person Starts Today, Sept 18: Minnesota, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wyoming

 

Early voting in person is available today – Sept 21 – in these states:

Minnesota

South Dakota

Vermont

Virginia

Wyoming

* Voting absentee in person (a bit of an oxymoron) started on September 9 in Alabama

…..

Always check your state and county websites for specific information about voting times and voting locations.

…..

Early voting in person starts on Thursday – Sept 24 – in Michigan.

Early voting in person starts on Thursday – Sept 24 – in SOME COUNTIES in Illinois.

Missouri does not offer an early voting period. If you will be unable to vote in person on Election Day, you can request an absentee ballot/mail-in ballot by mail or by visiting your local election office – beginning on Sept 22.

…..

Remember, if you vote – in person or drop it off or put it in the mail – stop by and post a comment in the I Voted post.  It’s in the sidebar on computers and in the hamburger menu on mobile.

If you know the date for early voting, and your state isn’t on one of these lists yet, let me know in the comments:

Massachusetts early voting starts October 17

GA early voting:  October 12 – October 30

Ohio starts on October 6

Florida early voting:  October 24 – 31  (Oct 19 in some places!)

Maine early voting:  October 5 – 30

Texas early voting: October 13 – October 30.

RI early voting begins October 14.

California:  October 5 –  November 2

Arizona:  October 7th

Kentucky:  October 13th

New Mexico:  Oct 17 – 31

North Carolina:  Oct 15 – 31

Missouri:  September 22

Nevada: October 17 – 30

Colorado:  October 19

West Virginia: Oct 21 – Oct 31

 

 

Reader Interactions

119Comments

  1. 1.

    CarolDuhart2

    I early voted back in 2008 and 2012 (was ill for the 2012 primary) and I can’t say enough good about it. Dropping that ballot in the box and not having to think about Election night, no long lines, and no anxiety was worth it. The feeling of not being rushed is worth it, and knowing if something went wrong, I could come back the next day if necessary.

    This time I will have to vote absentee because I’m too high risk to stand in line, and the drop box is all the way across town.  Kathleen, I need a ride to the drop box….but I’m voting as soon as it comes in.

  3. 3.

    gbbalto

    Maryland – ” The early voting period runs from Monday, October 26, 2020 to Monday, November 2, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live.”

  4. 4.

    WaterGirl

    Barbara has the honor of being our first voter for today, and her comment has been “sticker-ed” in the I Voted! thread.  (In the sidebar and in the hamburger menu on mobile.)

    i voted sticker

    Also, good news from J_A  in that thread, which I will copy here:

    Early voting in Texas starts October 13 (which is one week earlier than normal, because of the pandemic) so I cannot get my sticker yet. But I wanted to note that Harris county (Houston) has substantially increased the number of early voting polling places.

    it used to be the closest to my house was about 8 miles away (actually, walking distance from the office). Earlier this year, for the primaries, they opened another one, only file miles away, that I went to on my bicycle.

    I checked for this election and the one I biked to is now only the third closest to me. Two new ones popped up. And the number of early polling places has more than tripled all over Houston. Good job, 100% Democratic Harris County.

    Good job Harris County!

  5. 5.

    BC in Illinois

    My wife, her sister, and I will be voting tomorrow at the St. Louis County Election Board Headquarters at Northwest Plaza. Being registered septuagenarians, we can claim health reasons [Covid] for voting early. No notary, no fuss.

    I could say it in positive terms, but deep down I’m voting against Trump (R – aspiring potentate), Rep. Ann Wagner (R – safe Republican vote), and Gov. Parson (R – worthless pile). And against a pro-gerrymandering amendment resolution.

    I hope there’s not a tremendous line, because I want to get this done.
    I hope there IS a tremendous line, because that would mean people are taking this seriously.

  8. 8.

    geg6

    We don’t have early in-person voting here in PA, but since the state supremes made their decisions on all the outstanding ballot issues late last week, ballots for mail-in voting are being printed as we speak.  We should get ours in the mail some time between late this week and late next week.  John and I have determined that we will fill them out the same day we get them and take them down to the county elections office the next day.  Our mail comes too late in the day to get them there that day, but the next day is just as good.

  9. 9.

    germy

    AOC said “I am voting early and in person.  What’s your plan?”

    Fair enough.

    But then a guy who writes for the Federalist, David Marcus,  replies “Is AOC breaking the law here?”

    He thought she meant she was voting twice.

    Thank God for wingnut welfare, otherwise these Federalist intellectuals would be homeless.

  10. 10.

    Omnes Omnibus

    My polling place moved this year and is now only three buildings away from mine.  I am, nevertheless, planning on voting early at the city clerks office as soon as in-person absentee begins in in WI (Oct.13).

  11. 11.

    mad citizen

    Same for my wife and me.  We have been early voting the last 2-3 cycles and it’s great, although this year I think I want to find out how our votes are counted here in my red state.  (We can vote starting Oct. 6)

    My Indiana congressional district is the key race identified by real clear politics (the Fightin’ 5th!).  I’ve suffered through a couple decades of Dan Burton (remember the nut who had a watermelon shot at to “prove” something about the Clintons) and after that a sane but placeholder R woman, who is now retiring.  Candidates this year are D Christina Hale and R Victoria Spartz.  Hale, a single mother, served in our statehouse, got bipartisan bills passed, etc.  Spartz grew up in the USSR–Ukraine, met her husband, a local Indiana farmer on a train in Europe, etc.  She loves ‘merica and takes the angle of how bad socialism is, trying to equate that with our Dems.

    I bring all this up to say that if this race is tight (and one August poll I found had Hale (D) at 47% to the R at 40%), things are definitely changing for the best in this mostly suburban district (it’s those white suburban mothers again).  Because in 2018 election the margin of victory for the R was 70,000.  If 70,000+ votes are changing sides here in a red congressional district in Indiana, this will be a national blue tsunami.

  12. 12.

    Geoboy

    Be aware that early voting dates can vary by county as well.  In New Mexico statewide it has to start no later than October 17th, but here in Los Alamos County its starting October 6th.

  14. 14.

    Another Scott

    We haven’t voted yet, and are still figuring out the best approach.

    https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/absentee

    FOUR IMPORTANT THINGS

    1. Your absentee/early voting ballot is counted on election night in the Central Absentee Precinct (CAP) and your vote is included with the absentee reported results.

    2. There are two ways to vote absentee in Virginia: in-person/early voting, and by mail. To do either, you should first check your voter registration status to make sure it is up-to-date.

    Please note: Virginia no longer requires reason codes for absentee in-person/early voting, or absentee by-mail voting.

    • Video: How to fill out Your Mail-in Absentee Ballot

    3. You can apply for a vote-by-mail ballot online by accessing your Virginia Voter Record. You must, however, be registered to vote. Please check your voter registration status to make sure it is up-to-date. Once you have verified your registration status, you will need the following to complete your vote-by-mail request:
    • Social Security Number
    • Virginia Driver’s License
    Your application will be denied if you fail to provide the last four digits of your social security number or any other information required to determine your qualification to vote absentee. For additional information, please visit the Virginia Department of Elections’ website or contact our office.

    4. If you plan to vote absentee in-person/early voting, you do not need to submit an application, and you do not need to call ahead. You must, however, be registered to vote. Please check your voter registration status to make sure it is up-to-date. Additionally, please review the current voter ID requirements.

    ABSENTEE IN-PERSON/EARLY VOTING BEGINS:

    – September 18 at the Fairfax County Government Center
    – Please note satellite locations will not open until October 14
    – Please note a Fairfax County registered voter can vote absentee in-person/early voting at any of our 15 locations

    In Virginia if one requests an absentee ballot by mail, then one must bring that ballot with them if they vote early in person. Otherwise, they will have to take a provisional ballot (and demonstrate their ability to vote within a few days).

    At the moment, we’re thinking of requesting an absentee ballot and dropping it of when the satellite offices are open on October 14 (or shortly thereafter). There’s been little drop-off in in-person voting at the main Government Center, so in-person voting is not appealing at the moment. And being able to drop off a live ballot will remove any concerns about the USPS or other delays.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  16. 16.

    Mousebumples

    Per USPS Delivery Notice, our ballots should be arriving today. Provided that’s accurate, I’m planning to drop off our completed ballots on Wednesday morning. I’m actually working in the office that day, since we have a 4th year pharmacist student on campus that needs supervision, per our higher ups.

  18. 18.

    SiubhanDuinne

    GA early voting: October 12 – October 30

    I’m still somewhat flummoxed that early voting in GA begins on a Federal Holiday. No other state starts their voting on Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day. I keep thinking it’s a mistake, and someone in the Secretary of State’s office will notice on about October 8 and scramble to change things and fuck over a bunch of people whose voting plan had VOTE October 12. (My own voting plan is to early vote in person on October 13.)

  19. 19.

    Nicole

    @Benw:

    Early voting in NY is 10/24-11/1. I’ll be there

    You and me both.  My day-of polling place is literally across the street from me, but the early polling place is only 3 blocks away, so still WINNING.

  21. 21.

    Tony Jay

    Apropos of nothing, why does Mike Pence always look like a guy who has just this second awakened from a decade long coma whose very first conscious thought is “Does someone have hold of my balls?”

    Sorry, what were we talking about? Voting? Very good idea.

  22. 22.

    gvg

    Florida-I have requested mail ballot again. It is supposed to be mailed out by September 24th (this week!). I plan on filling it out immediately and taking it in. I can take it to an early voting location or Supervisor of Elections. I did the supervisor for the primary. The early voting starts October 24th statewide but counties are allowed to start sooner and mine does on October 19th. Counting of mail in starts 22 days before the election and I can see the status online in case there is a signature or other issue. I think that is October 12.

  24. 24.

    wesinOH

    My housemates mother (86) lives in SW VA so I emailed him the information on early voting for their county so he could tell her next time they talked.  He talked to her Saturday evening and was telling her about early voting but turns out she and his brother had already voted!!!

  25. 25.

    Tony Jay

    @StringOnAStick:

    Then it’s up to me to try harder.

    1) Three Republicans walk into a bar….

    2) ?

    3) …and that’s why most barstools have three legs.

    I know, I know, but it’s very bleak and depressing over here.

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott: I took the liberty of bolding one of your paragraphs.

    I wanted to be sure that “skimmers” would know that in Virginia, like Illinois, if you request the vote by mail ballot, you must bring that ballot with you if you want to vote in person.

    Otherwise, you get a provisional ballot, which is obviously not as good.

  28. 28.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Tony Jay: Do you remember Elvis Costello’s brilliant song about Margaret Thatcher, “Tramp the Dirt Down?”  Of course you do.  Just think, when the time comes, how much more dirt there will be to tramp down on Boris’s grave.

  30. 30.

    Gin & Tonic

    Don’t all you early voters think it’d be wise to wait until after at least the first debate? I mean, the President could be cogent and persuasive and convince you to vote for him.

  33. 33.

    MazeDancer

    Will be turning your Voting Plans into Illustrations to help inspire others. We’re over 75, soon to be 80, in the sidebar. Yay, BJ Voters!

    Just post right here in this thread and you get an Illustration.

    (If you’ve already posted and don’t want an Illustration that will inspire others, let me know. Just click on my nym to go to PostCardPatriots.com to email.)

  35. 35.

    Tony Jay

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    When that horrible old creature finally crossed over to join the rest of the Nazgûl there was a concerted effort to get Costello’s poignant meditation on her awfulness back to Number One in the charts. Many pearls were clutched across the nation, but the general consensus was he didn’t go far enough.

    When Johnson’s fat-encrusted ticker lets out its terminal parp I imagine not many people are going to care, and even fewer will be bothered travelling all the way to suburban Moscow to piss on his grave.

    Failure in life, failure in death. Consistent for the first time ever.

  38. 38.

    geg6

    Oh god.  Just read over at Pierce’s joint that Hans van Spakovsky is running the Trump voter suppression group.  Why can’t these losers ever disappear after they get humiliated again and again?

  40. 40.

    CarolDuhart2

    @geg6: No one else wants them.  These grifters are unemployable and unelectable by anyone.  So they do the only thing they can do.

  41. 41.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Another Scott: Thanks for the information regarding the satellite voting locations! So my plan will be to go vote early at the satellite location closest to me (which means waiting until October but not having to drive out to Fairfax is good; also less likely to have the RWNJs out at the satellite office in my opinion)

  43. 43.

    Matt McIrvin

    @MazeDancer: I’d already posted in one of these threads and got my plan immortalized at PostCardPatriots, and then I forgot about it. Was wondering how to make it happen and was surprised to discover I was already there!

  44. 44.

    germy

    @geg6:

    Starting in early spring, as the coronavirus took hold, a conservative lawyer at the forefront of raising alarms about voting by mail held multiple private briefings exclusively for Republican state election officials, according to previously unreported public records.

    The lawyer, the Heritage Foundation’s Hans von Spakovsky, is a leading purveyor of the notion that voter fraud is rampant, claims that have been largely discredited.

    Among the participants in these meetings has been an official from the office of Georgia’s secretary of state; the secretary, Brad Raffensperger, recently elevated concerns about voter fraud by contending that 1,000 Georgians had voted twice in elections this year.

    https://www.propublica.org/article/no-democrats-allowed-a-conservative-lawyer-holds-secret-voter-fraud-meetings-with-state-election-officials

  46. 46.

    germy

     In May 2017, Trump appointed von Spakovsky to a voter fraud commission that disbanded less than a year later without producing any evidence of voter fraud.

  47. 47.

    Matt McIrvin

    @geg6: It kind of reminds me of the sealionish sort of internet arguers who will still pop up with a 43rd minor variant of their case after you’ve smacked down the previous 42 with math and links to sources. And when you finally get tired of it and the fight dies down, they’ll come back again with version 1.

  50. 50.

    Kent

    @geg6:Oh god.  Just read over at Pierce’s joint that Hans van Spakovsky is running the Trump voter suppression group.  Why can’t these losers ever disappear after they get humiliated again and again?

    The don’t have the skills to do anything else productive with their lives.   I mean, would YOU hire someone as vile and full of smarmy flop sweat as Hans van Spakovsky?  He’s like a Ted Cruz with less charisma if that is possible to imagine.

  52. 52.

    CaseyL

    The ACLU has a reporting tool if your in-person voting polling place is being surrounded or otherwise impeded by people who don’t want you to be able to vote:

     

    1-866-OUR-VOTE

    1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español)

    Thanks to everyone voting early and/or in person!

  54. 54.

    CarolDuhart2

    Also, every person who votes early frees up the polling places for those people who can only vote on Election Day itself.  Shorter lines, and faster processing of votes help, too.

    Also: Hans van Spakovsky:  the most debilitating thing for the Right has been is enable a whole slew of grifters and welfare leeches.  As long as they talk a good game, that’s all that matters.  We may be fortunate that they rely on these people, because people with competence might have made things worse. Wingnut welfare is what they try to make the citizen benefits kind out to be.  Ordinary citizens have to look for work under a certain age, or go to school, or do something productive.  Hans never has to do any of that, and probably not even report his earnings to his benefactors, or show any kind of success.

  58. 58.

    GregMulka

    As a note to my fellow MO residents, the state is making distinctions between Absentee and mail-in ballots. It looks like it boils down to you must provide a reason for requesting an absentee ballot or voting absentee in person but can request a mail-in ballot without providing a reason.

    Most Absentee ballots need to be notarized but the notary can’t charge for the server. All mail-in ballots must be notarized but the notary is allowed to charge. Here is the list of notaries who have committed to not charge for mail-in ballots.

    If you have registered to vote by mail and are requesting an absentee ballot and have not voted in person previously you must provide a copy of your ID. Acceptable forms of ID include:

    1. Identification issued by the state of Missouri, an agency of the state, or a local election authority of the state;
    2. Identification issued by the United States government or agency thereof;
    3. Identification issued by an institution of higher education, including a university, college, vocational and technical school, located within the state of Missouri;
    4. A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that contains the name and address of the voter; or
    5. Other identification approved by the secretary of state under rules promulgated pursuant to Missouri law.

    This identification requirement, as well as the notary requirement for absentee ballots, does not apply to overseas voters, those on active military duty or members of their immediate family living with them or voters who are permanently disabled and their caregivers.

    Summary:

    Most everyone can request a mail-in ballot. It must be notarized in the specific way required and if you send it in wrong they will call it a spoiled ballot and they are not providing a method of curing. The reasons for requesting an absentee ballot are limited. It requires jumping through many of the same hoops as what is being classified as mail-in balloting. Envelope must be returned correctly, notarization, et. al. Again, no method to cure a spoiled ballot.

    An absentee ballot may be returned by hand to the Election Authority for your county. A mail-in ballot MUST be returned via mail.

    None of this is designed to be as confusing as possible. <sarcasm>

  59. 59.

    Bruce K

    @Gin & Tonic: 

    Don’t all you early voters think it’d be wise to wait until after at least the first debate?

    After what I’ve seen of the GOP the past decade, the only thing that’d get me to vote for one of them – for any office in the land, down to dogcatcher – would be for them to raise my zombified corpse and command it to shamble down to the ballot box to pull the lever for them.

    And because I wouldn’t put it past them to try that, I’m leaving instructions for my remains to be cremated and scattered/interred in various locations on two separate continents.

  62. 62.

    GregMulka

    @BC in Illinois:

    Am signed up to be election judge so I have my reason to vote absentee. Will be doing so later this week or early next. The spouse’s coven leader has specifically forbid dying of stupidity so she has her religious reason for voting absentee. We’re enthusiastically voting for Jill.

  64. 64.

    Marcopolo

    @BC in Illinois:  I live in MO & will be voting early in-person absentee. You need to give a reason for it. Acceptable reasons include being away from your polling jurisdiction on election day & as BC said in his comment this year also mobility & medical issues (having comorbidities) associated with Covid-19. In the past, I have either been out of town or working the polls on election day (away from my assigned polling location) so that was my reason for voting this way. Then one of the elections last year, I thought I would be out of town so I voted & then the trip was changed. That changed my thinking. After all, a trip might come up which seems just as likely as one being cancelled. So now I am just saying I won’t be in my polling jurisdiction on election day because I may not, right? Btw, I do know a couple folks who either drive from StL City to StL County or vice versa on election day which makes them feel better (and makes that a true statement although they aren’t spending all day there) about saying they will be out of their polling jurisdiction on election day. Whatever works.

    I am voting a week from Wednesday (Sept. 30) in order to let the initial rush slow down a little.

  65. 65.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Omnes Omnibus:  I’ve had that album since college. Until Trump I thought Dick Cheney was the only guy I’d apply it to…but now there’s Trump and Moscow Mitch too.

  66. 66.

    trnc

    @germy: 

    AOC said “I am voting early and in person. What’s your plan?”

    Fair enough.

    But then a guy who writes for the Federalist, David Marcus, replies “Is AOC breaking the law here?”

    He thought she meant she was voting twice.

    He probably understood when he wrote it, but ratfucking republicans know no boundaries.

  67. 67.

    David Fud

    My GA mail in ballot is en route.  I will be placing it in one of the county voting drop boxes pretty soon thereafter.

  71. 71.

    Steeplejack

    @Another Scott:

    Last week I said I was going to vote at the Fairfax County Government Center early this week, after the “First!” people last Friday. But with the teeming hordes not abating—a good thing!—I am going to wait another week or two.

  72. 72.

    Jinchi

    @trnc: He probably understood when he wrote it, but ratfucking republicans know no boundaries.

    Sounds like he thought AOC was planning to do what Donald Trump has repeatedly told his base to do – Vote absentee, then in person.

    I’m sure he was just as critical of Trump’s comments.

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    I added a link to these Early Voting threads under Election Action! in the sidebar.  That should make it easy to see which states start voting on which days, or to go back and find things like the details about Virginia voting from Another Scott, or the crazy Missouri details from GregMulka.

    If you think of anything else election-related that should be added to that menu, please let me know!

  76. 76.

    Matt McIrvin

    @GregMulka:

    As a note to my fellow MO residents, the state is making distinctions between Absentee and mail-in ballots. It looks like it boils down to you must provide a reason for requesting an absentee ballot or voting absentee in person but can request a mail-in ballot without providing a reason.

    MA makes that distinction too–but in the case of MA, I think it’s generally good-faith and the result of organizational inertia. The way it used to work was, absentee ballots required an excuse but were available for all elections; mail-in early ballots required no excuse but were available for only some elections (the biggest ones).

    This year, though, COVID caused the two to functionally converge. The Secretary of State decided that fear of COVID was an adequate excuse for absentee ballots. There was also emergency legislation that extended mail-in early voting to all elections. So they do the same thing for all the same people, but they’re still different. I hope this state of affairs doesn’t last

    There’s no ridiculous requirement to get them notarized, though, and the state tries to give you opportunity to fix a spoiled ballot, and will let you vote in person if they haven’t gotten your ballot by Election Day.

  82. 82.

    MattF

    I plan to vote in MD (preferably via drop box) as soon as I can, but that won’t happen for a few weeks.

    OT BONUS: Allie Brosh has a new post up on the Hyperbole and a Half website and it’s spectacular.

  83. 83.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Gin & Tonic: In some local elections, it’s common for the only public events that really allow you to learn much about the candidates to be pretty late in the cycle. So early voting can really be a problem for these. (My mother’s given it as a reason for being reluctant to do it.)

    Around here, though, the things like City Council elections tend to be odd-year. I think that the only races on my ballot that are even being contested are President/VP, Senate, and a couple of ballot questions (one of which is the focus of an actually puzzling controversy–car manufacturers getting support from sexual abuse prevention organizations, claiming the proposed extension of right-to-repair will have privacy ramifications that enable stalkers and rapists).

  84. 84.

    Matt McIrvin

    I’ve been checking the state website every day to see when they mail out my ballot, but I suspect it may not happen for another week or two. In-person early voting is in mid-October.

  87. 87.

    Princess

    @narya: I have early-voted at both the ward-specific sites in Chicago and at the “super site” in the Loop before. In my experience, there were lines at the ward sites, but the Loop site was very quick.

  88. 88.

    mad citizen

    @MazeDancer: Great idea, thanks for your effort and you have inspired me to make this plan: October 12, Columbus Day holiday for me as a state employee but apparently not for my local county (hence voting is available): My wife and I drive to our county seat’s judicial center, where we married in 1997, wear our masks and VOTE! to flip the Indiana 5th from Red to Blue, as well as vote in all the other races.  After that, maybe a short road trip to enjoy the autumn scenery.

    (kinda long–feel free to edit as you wish).

  89. 89.

    KnittyGal

    Early voting starts in KY on Oct. 13th, plan on going after lunch. I have also volunteered to be a poll worker this year. RGB RIP

  90. 90.

    japa21

    @narya: My suburb starts 10/19, as do most of the non-Chicago parts of Cook County. There are a few sites that start earlier but only a few.  As WG pointed out, IL allows early voting to begin 40 days prior to the election which is Thursday.  DuPage County and Kane County start the 24th.

  95. 95.

    Barbara

    @Ken: I didn’t recognize the third party candidate on the Virginia ballot.  There was only one, Jo Jorgensen with the Libertarian Party.  No Green Party at all.

  96. 96.

    narya

    @Princess: Oh, cool! I don’t know why I didn’t know about the ward-specific sites before. I have used some of the other sites–Truman College–but didn’t realize there was something in each ward. I was contemplating mail-in, but realized that, in addition to the generaly USPS issue, they don’t start counting the mail-in until after the polls close, and I don’t want any delays. Even though it’s not as though this is going to be a contested site . . .

  97. 97.

    Another Scott

    An interesting interview with someone working on the science of voting (figuring out what works, how to do it better, the best places to put ballot boxes, etc.).
    ScienceMag:

    Q: There’s a lot of anxiety about ways that the process of voting could be disrupted, whether it’s concerns about the pandemic, the Postal Service, or foreign actors interfering. What are you most worried about?

    A: Two things: I’m worried about voters screwing up and I’m worried about not enough poll workers to work in-person polling places to meet demand for in-person voting.

    With respect to voters screwing up, what I mean is voters screwing up voting by mail and voters, you know, requesting mail ballots or mailing them in too late, not having opportunities to return them in person. [Common errors on mail-in ballots include failing to sign the ballot [(me) sic!! In most places, AFAIK, you sign the envelope, not the actual ballot!!] and marking votes incorrectly so they don’t register.]

    On the in-person side, I think we’re going to have a very high demand for in-person voting. In the primary season the real struggle with keeping polling places open has been with counties losing their poll workers. In 2016, 60% of poll workers were over the age of 60 and 25% are over the age of 70. So the prime poll working population is also the prime population that’s most at risk of COVID. That’s a big thing. Nate Persily [Stanford University law professor and Healthy Elections Project co-director] and I spend a lot of our time on phone calls about poll worker recruitment, which is not necessarily the highest and best use of our time. But there we are, making sure that the various groups, the various websites are actually going to be effective, rather than just simply a feel-good exercise.

    An interesting read.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  98. 98.

    Matt McIrvin

    Trump is now openly talking about ramming through a SCOTUS appointee who will help him in election disputes over the “fake ballots”.

    This is coming, folks, hope we’re ready. I have a plan to vote but I don’t really have a plan for revolution.

  99. 99.

    Alice

    Good news from Nevada, Trump’s lawsuit against mail-in voting has been thoroughly tossed out on its ear.

    “Although they purport to allege constitutional harms that go beyond these policy disagreements, at this juncture, plaintiffs’ allegations remain just that. Since initiating this matter on August 4, 2020, plaintiffs have not requested an injunction or expedited review. Plaintiffs ask for a remedy to cure the ‘confusion’ caused by AB4, yet they have positioned this case for last minute adjudication before the general election.”

    — Judge James Mahan in his dismissal of the lawsuit brought by President Trump’s re-election campaign over Nevada’s mail-in vote system

    The order also rejected an argument that the changes in AB4 would lead to an increase in voter fraud — something Mahan called an “impermissibly speculative injury.”

  100. 100.

    Another Scott

    @MazeDancer: J and I just requested our Virginia absentee ballots on-line.  We’ll be dropping them in the local secure collection box when it is available (October 14-31).

    Easy peasy!  No excuses!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  101. 101.

    Regine Touchon

    Voting absentee in person (a bit of an oxymoron) started on September 9 in Alabama and you can do so till October 29.  The easiest way to do this is to print off an absentee ballot request and fill it out.  Then go to the election manager office at your county courthouse give them your request and they will give you a ballot to vote right there.  You need to check the box “I have a physical illness or infirmity which prevents my attendance at the polls” if you are voting absentee due to COVID-19 concerns.  I voted last Friday.  I’ve been texting to voters for the Doug Jones campaign and we’re pushing people to vote absentee in person and had positive responses for the most part.

  103. 103.

    TEL

    I’ll be filling out my ballot here in Marin County, CA as soon as I get it in the mail, then walking over to my polling location which will have a 24 hour ballot dropbox from October 6 until election day!

  104. 104.

    RandyG

    Early voting in Arizona starts October 7th.

    Vote-by-mail ballots — in AZ called PEVL=Permanent Early Voting List — are mailed out starting the same day. AZ is not a VBM-only state, but generally upwards of 70% do vote by mail, so the county recorders/S.O.S. are well-versed in and prepared for the process. Also, AZ S.O.S. and both Maricopa (Phoenix) and Pima (Tucson) County recorders — by far the two largest counties in the state, Maricopa is 4th largest in U.S. — are ALL Democrats, so internal funny business is pretty unlikely.  

    Arizona voters…. For information about voting (locations, VBM, early, Voter ID, registration/verification), https://arizona.vote is a good place to start.

  105. 105.

    Miss Bianca

    @germy: I wonder how all these pearl-clutchers responded when Trump actually TOLD a bunch of people to try voting twice. You know, like for science, right?

    Oh, right…crickets.

  108. 108.

    Don K

    Note: MI does not have in-person early voting, because Republicans control the horribly gerrymandered legislature, but I suppose one could stop by the office of one’s township or city Clerk, get a no-excuse absentee ballot, and vote it then and there (I did that once when I thought I was going to have a business trip over Election Day. My husband and I requested absentees for the general when we requested them for the August primary, and our township Clerk is scheduled to mail them out a week from today. We will fill them out promptly and I will return them to the lockbox at Township Hall a mile away.

    By the way, when you request an absentee in MI, you can tick a box to be put on a list to automatically receive an application for an absentee before every election. Takes care of those under-the-radar elections like school millages that pop up during the year.

  110. 110.

    WaterGirl

    sent to me by email from a jackal

    Requesting A Ballot

    It starts with registration, which you can complete right now online at VoteOhio.gov. Then you can request a mail-in ballot by filling out a form from your county’s Board of Elections. Here’s Hamilton County’s form for the November election.

    LaRose, too, intends to mail an absentee voter application to all of Ohio’s nearly 8 million voters sometime shortly after Labor Day.

    When your application is received, all the identifying information on the application – like your name, date of birth, signature, Ohio driver’s license number or social security number – are electronically and manually cross-referenced with information from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and from your original voter registration form. This ensures that the person applying for a ballot is really who they claim to be.

    Then, a bipartisan team from the Board of Elections creates a ballot packet, which includes a voter’s personalized ballot from their district held inside an identification envelope which contains another form with identifying information. That envelope is inside a second return envelope alongside instructions to ensure the ballot is filled out correctly.

    After a voter receives their ballot and fills it out, they seal their ballot inside the identification envelope, and seal the identification envelope inside the return envelope. This creates two layers of protection for the ballot from anyone trying to get in and tamper with it.

    Ballots can be either mailed to the voter’s county Board of Elections using the Postal Service or dropped off by hand at the Board of Elections office. There is a touchless drop box for absentee ballots outside the Hamilton County board offices on Smith Road in Norwood.

    Voters mailing their ballots must have them postmarked one day before the election – in this case, Nov. 2 for the general election. Voters can also drop off ballots at the Board of Elections in person before the polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

    The Verification Process

    Once a ballot reaches the Board of Elections – whether it be on Election Day, days later or weeks before – every ballot goes through the same verification process. Just like with the mail-in application, information on the identification envelopes is verified by a bipartisan team electronically and manually. Still sealed, the ballots are stored in a room with two locks so that one Republican and one Democratic Board of Elections employee are needed to access the room.

    Mail-in ballots are then removed from their envelopes and inspected to ensure they don’t have coffee stains or tears, which would make them unable to be read by machines. Damaged ballots are still counted, just by hand instead. After being flattened to remove creases, ballots are fed through a machine that captures the voting record but does not create a count of how many votes a candidate has received. That ensures employees of the Board of Elections don’t have any information about the results of an election – they find out the results at the same time the public does.

    On Election Day

    Once Election Day arrives, the data from the vote capturing machines is manually moved to a tabulation machine that generates the election results. That data is then moved by hand again to a computer that sends it to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office and the public. No machines in the vote count process are connected to the internet, and the manual moving of data is what causes the hours delay between polls closing and unofficial results being released later that night.

    This counting process continues for another week as ballots continue to arrive in the mail, and an official count is released seven days after Election Day.

    Additional Measures

    From voter registration to mail-in application to a final count, there are layers upon layers of security protection to ensure that mail-in voting is just as safe as voting in person. There are even additional layers of security at the state level. LaRose identified key safeguards that his office maintains to ensure complete election security.

    The Secretary of State’s office constantly adds and removes people from Ohio’s voter rolls, using data from the national moving database, the Bureau of Motor vehicles, and death records. This ensures that only currently eligible voters can get ballots.

    Additionally, ballot harvesting is prohibited in Ohio. This is when political operatives would collect ballots from both parties and throw out ballots they didn’t want to be counted.

    “That’s what happened in North Carolina,” LaRose says. “A Republican operative was convicted of election fraud for that very thing, throwing out Democratic ballots. In Ohio we don’t permit that.” Only the voter or their immediate family can submit ballots in Ohio.

    When An Anomaly Occurs

    After all this however, there still are some anomalies every election. According to Poland, this is usually voters who vote by mail and submit provisional ballots in-person. Every case is investigated individually. It usually results in a voter who mailed in their ballot near the deadline and then also voted in person to ensure that their vote counted; or an elderly who forgot they mailed in a ballot already. In all of these cases, only one ballot is counted and no charges are filed.

    In Hamilton County’s history though, there have been some cases of voter fraud.

    There have been three cases of voter fraud in the last decade, two where a family member submitted a ballot for a recently deceased relative, and one where a poll worker attempted to have multiple votes cast and counted. All three cases resulted in indictments. One resulted in a prison sentence.

    Despite this, voter fraud isn’t a concern in Hamilton County.

    “Voter fraud is extremely rare, and I can name those three cases off the top of my head because it’s so rare in Hamilton County,” Poland said. “It’s important for people to know that we look at all that, on top of all the security measures we have in place.”

    Despite being secure and still easy to vote by mail, the process isn’t perfect. Due to delays by the Postal Service in Butler County in the 2020 Ohio Primary, some valid votes weren’t counted. Diane Noonan is the director of the Butler County Board of Elections.

    “We called USPS on the last day and they said they gave us all the ballots, but Tuesday morning they showed up with 317 ballots,” Noonan said. “It was the Post Office’s fault for not sending us the ballots by the time they had to be here – May 8, according to state legislation. We tried to go to the Secretary of State to try and still use those ballots but we were not permitted.”

    “It’s just sad, there’s nothing that we could do,” Noonan said.

    To avoid a similar fate for your ballot, Noonan recommends submitting your ballot in the mail at least one week before Election Day, or by dropping off your ballot by hand at your county’s Board of Elections office.

    Eligible Ohio voters can request mail-in ballots right now until Oct. 31 at your local Board of Elections office. You can register to vote, check your voter registration status, change your voting address or register to work as a poll worker on election day at the Secretary of State’s website VoteOhio.gov.

    Correction: This story originally included the incorrect information that ballots could be dropped off at county boards of election until Nov. 10, one week after Election Day. Absentee ballots can be submitted in person, but must be delivered to the county board of elections before 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, when the polls close.

     

  113. 113.

    WaterGirl

    @Don K:  This is what I found on the Michigan website.  Are you thinking that is wrong?

    Early Voting for the Tuesday, November 3, 2020 General Election begins on September 24th and ends on November 2nd. 

    Beginning 45 days before the Election you can vote early in person or apply for an absentee ballot at your City/Township Clerk’s office. You can apply for the absentee ballot and vote that ballot during the same visit! Early voting continues until 4pm the day before the Election.

  116. 116.

    Matt McIrvin

    @MazeDancer: I just figured out exactly where that drop box is, based on photos of it and Google Street View. Wasn’t sure precisely where to turn in from the street.

  117. 117.

    J R in WV

    @geg6:

    @germy:

    I swear, conservatives all have subhuman IQs.

    We have had really good dogs who were way smarter than the guy trying to nail AOC, who appears to be dumber than our less talented but very sweet dogs.

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