The first 2024 ballots are in the mail. Here’s what to know

Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, Ethan Cohen, Molly English and Matt Holt, CNN

(CNN) — It’s not one election, but 51, that pick the US president. Every state and the District of Columbia has its own rules and deadlines for voting and for counting votes.

The first voting officially was already supposed to be underway with mail-in ballots in the key state of North Carolina, but that process was delayed by courts that ruled ballots must be reprinted without the option of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

Absentee ballots are now officially available in Alabama, although, somewhat ironically, it is a state that discourages early voting.

Others will follow in the weeks to come.

Here’s what to know:

When do voting by mail and early voting start?

Most states will not offer mail-in ballots until later in September or October. The next firm date on the calendar is September 19, when ballots are supposed to be available in the key state of Wisconsin. For all states, ballots must begin to be sent to military and overseas voters by September 21.

Each state has its own rules and deadlines for how and when to request a mail-in ballot and by when those ballots must be returned. In some states, mail ballots must be in the hands of election officials before polls close, but others will count ballots that arrive after Election Day if they were postmarked earlier.

Washington, for instance, is one of the handful of states that conducts nearly all of its voting entirely by mail and will accept a mail-in ballot until results are certified in late November so long as it is postmarked by Election Day.

Early voting may also be done in person in most states, but that process does not get underway until later in September. Widespread early voting will begin on September 20 in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia.

For specifics on your state, visit CNN’s Voter Handbook, which has the dates for every state.

Can everyone vote early?

No. Thirty-six states plus Washington, DC, allow all voters to cast ballots by mail.

Eight of those states and Washington, DC, send a ballot automatically to all voters. Fourteen states, by contrast, require some kind of excuse for early or mail-in voting. These excuses can range from being required to work to volunteering at a polling place to caring for a sick relative.

Is the campaign over?

Far from it. Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump just held a contentious debate on September 10. The candidates for vice president, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will take part in a debate on October 1.

Both campaigns will also focus events and get-out-the vote efforts on seven states considered to be up for grabs. More and more Americans will be voting all the while.

Do most people know who they’ll vote for?

Probably, yes. In a set of CNN polls conducted by SSRS in battleground states, only an average of 15% of voters said they have not yet firmly decided their choice. This is actually a sizable portion and suggests the outcome of the presidential race is far from certain, especially since those battleground state polls showed close matches in each state.

In 2020, CNN exit polls showed that nearly three-quarters of voters made up their minds before September. Only 5% of exit poll respondents said they made up their minds in the week before Election Day.

When and in what manner will most people vote?

In 2020, most people voted early or by mail, but those figures were amplified by the special circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. A little less than half of voters in 2020 voted by mail, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted after Election Day. About a quarter of voters cast ballots in person before Election Day, and about a quarter of voters cast ballots in person on Election Day, according to that survey.

Then-President Trump spoke out against voting by mail in 2020, part of his unfounded claims of voter fraud, and as a result, Republicans were less likely to cast mail-in ballots. The largest portion of Trump voters, 37%, cast ballots in person on Election Day, according to Pew. For comparison, just 17% of Joe Biden voters cast ballots in person on Election Day. Nearly 60% of Biden voters cast absentee or mail-in ballots.

Those figures could change this year. Some states will not be as accommodating of early or mail-in voting in 2024. And with the Covid-19 pandemic less of a factor, more voters may decide to vote in person instead of by mail.

Trump still makes false claims of voter fraud and still doesn’t like the idea of mail-in voting, although he has routinely voted that way himself. Republicans, despite Trump’s warnings, are encouraging vote-by-mail in many places.

How can I make sure my mail-in ballot is counted?

Read the directions! Each state is different, but many have very specific directions for how mail-in ballots must be returned.

For people voting by mail in North Carolina, for instance, the signature of either two witnesses or a notary is required along with a photocopy of a photo ID.

In Pennsylvania, voters must write the date on the outside of their envelope. A Pennsylvania state court recently ruled, however, that ballots without that date cannot be thrown out.

Look for more of these questions to be answered in court around the country in the coming weeks.

For verification, some states require a photocopy of your ID, while others require a driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number.

In many states, mail-in ballots require a signature that will be compared with the signature on your driver’s license or voter registration card, so make sure you don’t adopt a new signature for the election.

Also make sure that you put your ballot in the mail with plenty of time to spare. If it gets closer to Election Day, consider returning your ballot in person to avoid the possibility of mail delays.

What if I make a mistake that jeopardizes my ballot?

Frequently, voters can monitor when their ballot is received and its status online. If a ballot is rejected, most states have a ballot curing process – meaning they will notify the voter, and there is a process for fixing, or curing, the problem.

What if I’m in the military or live overseas?

You can vote, either by requesting an absentee ballot from your stateside local jurisdiction or through the Federal Voting Assistance Program. Different rules can apply to people voting from oversees, so don’t wait until the last minute.

What if I’m not registered to vote?

First, check your registration status. Many states offer voter registration when obtaining a driver’s license.

If you’re not registered right now, no problem. Voter registration deadlines don’t kick in until October, and they vary by state.

Rhode Island is the first state to cut off voter registration at one month before Election Day on October 5. But it is also among the 23 states and the District of Columbia that allow Election Day registration.

Alaska and Rhode Island are unique because they only allow Election Day registration in the presidential election. By that time, most Americans may already have voted.

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