There’s less than a week left until the 2024 general election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. That means early voting is still underway in most of the states — with at least 55 million people already casting their ballot — and for some, it’s important to know that your early polling place will most likely be different than your Election Day polling place.
Experts on the American election process have often encouraged people to take full advantage of early voting. It not only can be convenient for busy folks who might be pressed for time on Election Day itself but also can give them extra time to sort things out in case there are issues with their voter registration or their ballots.
With that in mind, read on to see how you can find your early voting location online. For more on the election, read about how ballot selfies might land you in legal hot water and see if there’s still time for you to register to vote.
What is early voting?
When you think about “early voting,” you’ll most likely imagine what is specifically called “early in-person voting,” in which you go to a specific place and cast your ballot in person prior to Election Day. These locations often resemble a polling place you’d see on the big day, with volunteer poll workers and booths for filling out your ballot.Â
In some states, this involves going to an official local government office, requesting an absentee ballot, filling it out and submitting it on the spot. This method is often referred to as either “in-person absentee voting” or “no-excuse absentee voting.” Only a few states — Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire — don’t offer universally accessible early voting, only allowing people to request absentee ballots with an approved excuse.
Where can I find my early voting polling place?
It’s those “early in-person voting” locations in particular that you’ll want to be sure about, as they will tend to differ from the polling place you’d go to on Election Day. Using online tools that claim to help you find your “polling location” will almost always give you the address to go to on Election Day, not during early voting, so you’ll have to look elsewhere.
To find out where you can vote early, the best place to look is your local county government’s official website. Simply search for your county’s name and the term “early voting,” and you should find a page listing where residents can go to vote early. Another good bet for finding the information you need would be your county’s Board of Elections website.Â
In some cases, there will be multiple locations listed, but don’t worry, as any resident should be able to vote at any of these locations, so just pick the one that’s closest to you. As Vote.org notes, you might have to specifically search for “absentee voting” to find the information you need, depending on where you live.
For more information about each state’s early voting periods, please consult the interactive map below.
For more about getting ready for this election, find out how you can also look up your sample ballot online.