Early voting

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Early voting, also called advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenience voting process by which voters in a public election can vote before a scheduled election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as via postal voting, or in person, usually in designated early voting polling stations. The availability and time periods for early voting vary among jurisdictions and types of election. The goals of early voting are usually to increase voter participation, relieve congestion at polling stations on election day, and avoid possible discrimination against people with work and travel schedules that may effectively prohibit them from getting to the polls during the hours provided in a single election day.

Contents

In some countries, early in-person voting or postal voting (or both) are available to all voters. In other countries, only some voters (such as those who are expected to be out of the country or hospitalized on election day are eligible) are eligible to cast ballots via these methods. [1]

Australia and New Zealand

Australia

In Australia, where voting is compulsory, [2] early voting is usually known as "pre-poll voting". Voters are able to cast a pre-poll vote for a number of reasons, including being away from the electorate, travelling, impending maternity, being unable to leave one's workplace, having religious beliefs that prevent attendance at a polling place, or being more than 8 km from a polling place. [3] There were over 600 early voting centres available in 2016. [4]

At the 2019 Australian federal election, 6.1 million votes were cast early (including postal votes), equating to 40.7 percent of total votes cast. This represented an increase from 26.4 percent at the 2013 election and 13.7 percent at the 2007 election. Following the 2019 elections, members of the parliamentary standing committee on electoral matters expressed concern about the length of the pre-poll voting period, suggesting that it was imposing costs on both the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and political parties, and that electors voting too early may be unable to respond to developments in the final weeks of the election campaign. [5]

New Zealand

Early voting, or advance voting, has been possible in New Zealand without a reason since 2008. Advance voting opens 12 days before the election day, with around 500 polling booths set up across the country. [6] Voters attending an appropriate advance polling booth for their electorate (constituency) can cast an ordinary vote in the same way they would if voting on election day. If the voter is outside the electorate, enrolled after the cutoff date (31 days before election day), or is on the unpublished roll, they must cast a special vote.

In the 2011 election, 334,600 advance votes were cast, representing 14.7% of all votes cast. [7] This grew to 48% in the 2017 election [8] and to 66.7% in the 2020 election [9]

Europe

A 2020 report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) surveyed the use of voting arrangements in Europe, reporting on the prevalence of in-country postal voting, early voting, mobile voting, and proxy voting in various European countries. [1]

The IDEA report defined early voting, for purposes of the IDEA dataset was defined as "in-person opportunities for submitting one's vote at a polling station before election day", excluding "other early methods that are not in-person (such as postal or e-voting) or that do not take place in a polling station (such as mobile voting)". [1] Applying this definition, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia offer early voting to all voters. [1] Iceland, Portugal, Slovenia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia offer early voting to some voters. [1]

The IDEA report defined in-country postal voting, for purposes of its dataset, as "those measures that allow a voter to submit their ballot by physical post to the election administration" and noted that "While postal voting is in principle early voting, it differs in that the vote can be physically submitted remotely by the voter themselves." [1] Iceland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg offer in-country postal voting to all voters. [1] The Republic of Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia, and Lithuania offer in-country postal voting to some voters. [1]

Finland

Early voting in the 2012 Finnish presidential election on the premises of University of Turku, Finland Forhandsrostning presidentval TY 2012.jpg
Early voting in the 2012 Finnish presidential election on the premises of University of Turku, Finland

In Finland, eligible voters may cast ballots either on election day or by advance voting. [10] Advancing voting begins on a Wednesday, eleven days before election day. [11] The advance-voting period ends eight days before election day (for votes cast abroad at designated Finnish embassies) and five days before election day (for votes cast within Finland). Any qualified voter may cast a ballot at a "general advance polling station" (a Finland municipal office or certain post offices and Finnish embassies abroad). [11] "Special advance polling stations" are set up at hospitals for patients and prisons for detainees. Additionally, Finnish voters who are unable to travel to advance polling stations due to mobility impairments or illness may cast advance ballots at home (election commissioners make house calls to receive votes from such person). Crews of traveling Finnish ships may also cast ballots via advance voting, beginning 18 days before election day. [11]

Germany

Germany does not have in-person early voting, but allows all eligible voters to vote by mail. [1] Voting by mail was adopted in West Germany beginning in 1957, but was originally a method mostly used for those with a particular reason preventing them from casting an in-person ballot. [12] The proportion of German voters casting postal ballots has steadily increased since the 1990 reunification of Germany, and the excuse requirement was eliminated in 2008. [12] In the 2005 German federal election, 19% of all voters voted early. [13] In the 2017 German federal election, a then-record 28.6% of voters cast ballots by mail. [12] In the 2021 German federal election, 47.3% of voters cast ballots by mail, setting a new record. [14]

Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, it is traditional for voters on the remote coastal islands to vote on the day prior to the official date of the election. [15] This aims to avoid the possibility that bad weather might impede the delivery of ballot boxes to the count center on the mainland. However, the practice is not universally popular. [16]

Norway

In Norway early voting is known as "forhåndsstemming". By law, election day is set to a Monday in September in the year of the end of the current term. Early voting is usually opened 1 month before election day, and closes the Friday before. Up to and including the Friday, everyone can vote anywhere in the country. On election day, voting has to occur within the municipality the voter is a resident of by the end of June.

At the general election of 2009, 707,489 Norwegians voted in advance, 200 000 more than the previous record, in 2001. [17]

The share that do early voting has steadily increased and in the national elections in 2021, 57.9% of votes cast were early votes. [18] With 1.7 million early voters.

Sweden

Early voting station in a supermarket in Malmo during the European Parliament election 2009. Advancevotinglocationmalmoe.JPG
Early voting station in a supermarket in Malmö during the European Parliament election 2009.

Sweden has traditionally had a high participation in elections and tries to make it as easy as possible to vote. No registration is needed, since everyone is generally registered with a home address. Normally, a voter should vote on the election day in the specified polling station, but everyone can vote during the last week at an early polling station, anywhere in the country, usually municipality-owned places like libraries.

Also, on election day, some polling places are open, even though the election day is always on Sunday. In hospitals and homes for the elderly, there are special voting opportunities. In elections until 1998, post offices were used for several decades as early voting stations (post offices now belong to a commercial company and are no longer nationally administered). Swedes living abroad must register their address and can vote at embassies or through mail. [19]

The early votes are transported to the voter's polling station in double envelopes. On election day, a voter can vote at the polling station. Before the early vote is counted, officials check if the voter has voted at the polling station. If that is the case, the early vote is destroyed, with the inner envelope unopened. Early votes that do not reach the polling station in time are transported to the County Administrative Board and counted if the voter has not already voted. [20]

Switzerland

Swiss federal law allows postal voting in all federal elections and referendums, [21] and all cantons allow it for cantonal ballot issues. All voters receive their personal ballot by mail a few weeks before the election or referendum. They may cast it at a polling station on election day or mail it back at any prior time.

Asia and elsewhere

Russia

In Russia, early voting, according to the decision of the election commission, can be organized in special poll stations formed in remote and hard-to-reach areas, on ships that will be sailing on election day and at polar stations. At the same time, early voting can be held no earlier than twenty days before the election day. [22]

In 2020, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, a law was passed allowing early voting at all polling stations. For the first time, this system was used in the referendum on amendments to the constitution, which was held on 1 July 2020, but citizens had the opportunity to vote within a week before the main day. This was done for sanitary purposes, to reduce the number of people present at the same time at the polling stations. Later, the period of early voting was reduced to two days before the election day. Such a three-day voting was used for regional elections in September 2020. However, such a decision is not mandatory and can be made by the election commission within ten days after the election is scheduled. If the election Commission has not made such a decision, voting takes place only within one day. [23] [24]

Thailand

In Thailand, early voting is known as เลือกตั้งล่วงหน้า (advance voting). The Election Commission administers advancing voting. Early voting in the 2011 Thai general election was arranged on a Sunday (June 26, 2011) while prior elections were arranged on both Saturday and Sunday. Around 2.6 million people, including 1.07 million in Bangkok turned up to vote, however, many potential voters were unable to vote because of large crowds. [25]

North America

Canada

In Canada, elections are administered by Elections Canada. Early in-person voting is called advance polls, which are held on the 10th, 9th, 8th and 7th days before election day at designated advance-poll stations. Canadian voters may locate the date, hours, and address of their advance-poll station at the Elections Canada website, on their voter information card, or by telephoning Elections Canada. [26] About 4.9 million Canadians cast advance votes in the 2019 election, and almost 5.8 million Canadians cast ballots during the four advance-poll dates of the 2021 election, setting a record. [27]

Canadians may also vote, upon application, at Elections Canada local offices (established during election seasons in every riding in Canada), or by mail. Ballots cast via these methods are termed "special ballots." [26] Historically, voting by mail has been fairly rare in Canada; of the 18.4 million total votes in the 2019 Canadian election, slightly under 50,000 voters cast ballots by mail, with most of these ballots coming from Canadians living abroad. [28] Voting by mail in Canada increased during the 2021 election, with more than 1.1 million special ballots received (including from Canadian Forces servicemembers, Canadians living abroad, Canadians away from home on election day, and incarcerated Canadians); of this total, about 99,988 special ballots were not counted because they arrived after the receipt deadline (6 p.m. on election day), did not have a voter signature, or had some other problem. [29]

United States

Then-incumbent President Barack Obama participating in early voting for the 2016 elections Barack Obama casts an early vote in the 2016 election (cropped).jpg
Then-incumbent President Barack Obama participating in early voting for the 2016 elections
Sign indicating an early/absentee voting station in Fairfax County, Virginia Absentee voting sign, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg
Sign indicating an early/absentee voting station in Fairfax County, Virginia
Early voting in Rockville, Maryland Early voting at Bauer Drive Community Recreation Center.jpg
Early voting in Rockville, Maryland
Ballot drop box at a public library in California, 2020 Ballot drop box 2020.jpg
Ballot drop box at a public library in California, 2020

As of 2024, 47 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands offer in-person voting before Election Day. [30] Of the 46 states that allow early in-person voting seven states have all-mail voting. In these states, each eligible, registered voter is sent a ballot, which can either be returned by mail, or dropped off at designated site during the early voting period. [30]

The duration, start date, and end date of the early in-person voting period varies from state to state, from a low of 3 days to a high of 46 days; the average number of days of early in-person voting is 23. [30] Some states give discretion to local election officials (sometimes county clerks) to add certain days of early voting. [30]

Of states that permit early in-person voting (excluding the seven states that have "all-mail" elections), 23 states and D.C. allow some weekend early voting (on Saturdays, Sundays, or both). [30]

The National Conference of State Legislatures provides up-to-date information on each state's laws with links to relevant election statutes. [30]

As of 2024, only three states do not currently offer in-person early voting: Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire. [30] [31]

In addition to (or in lieu of) in-person early voting, all states offer absentee ballots to some voters, with significant differences among states. As of 2022, 35 states and D.C. offer "no-excuse absentee voting" in which any qualified voter may cast an absentee ballot without an excuse; in the remaining states, an absentee ballot will only be provided to a voter with a valid excuse. [32] Absentee ballots (also called mail-in ballots) are often returned to election offices by mail (see postal voting in the United States) [32] but some states offer "in-person absentee voting" (in which the voter requests, completes, signs, and submits the absentee ballot at a polling place). The voting experience for in-person absentee balloting is similar to the early-voting experience. [30]

Percent of votes cast by in-person early voting or absentee/mail-in voting in U.S. presidential elections
YearEarly votesSource
2020 64.04% [33]
2016 36.6% [34]
2012 31.6% [35]
2008 30.6% [36]
2004 22% [37]
2000 16% [38]
1992 7% [36]

States adopted early voting at different times. For example, Florida officially began early voting in 2004, [39] and voters in Maryland approved a constitutional amendment in November 2008 to allow early voting, starting with the primary elections in 2010. [40] Early voting was first used in Massachusetts for the general election of November 2016. [41] New York began early voting in 2019, as a result of a state law requiring eight days of early voting throughout the state. [42] [43]

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States led many states both to reduce the number of polling stations for the 2020 United States elections and to relax requirements for both mail-in and early voting, including mailing applications to all active registered voters and providing drop-boxes for ballots. [44] In the November 2020 elections, about 26% of votes nationwide were cast by early in-person voting, as compared to 46% of votes cast by mail/absentee ballot and 28% of votes cast in Election Day in-person voting. [45]

After the attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, following false claims of widespread voter fraud in the election by Donald Trump, Republican lawmakers initiated a push to restrict early voting (see Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election). [46]

In 2020, MTV founded the campaign for "Vote Early Day" as a civic holiday to celebrate the concept of early voting, directed primarily at young people. [47] [48] The MTV program partnered with businesses and nonprofits, and its advantage being that it isn’t ‘owned’ by any one entity. [49]

Related Research Articles

Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of rival candidates, or both. It differs from but often goes hand-in-hand with voter suppression. What exactly constitutes electoral fraud varies from country to country, though the goal is often election subversion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secret ballot</span> Anonymous voting method

The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote buying. This system is one means of achieving the goal of political privacy.

An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for newspapers or broadcasters – conduct exit polls to gain an early indication as to how an election has turned out, as in many elections the actual result may take many hours to count.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polling station</span> Place where voters cast their ballots in elections

A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building and polling station is the specific room where voters cast their votes. A polling place can contain one or more polling stations. In Australian English, "polling place" is used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in the United States</span> Political elections for public offices in the United States

In the politics of the United States, elections are held for government officials at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, the nation's head of state, the president, is elected indirectly by the people of each state, through an Electoral College. Today, these electors almost always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, the Congress, are directly elected by the people of each state. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at the local level, in counties, cities, towns, townships, boroughs, and villages; as well as for special districts and school districts which may transcend county and municipal boundaries.

In electoral systems, voter registration is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Election Day (United States)</span> Day for the general elections of public officials in the United States

Election Day in the United States is the annual day for general elections of federal public officials. It is statutorily set by the U.S. government as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November", i.e. the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8.

An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online voting. Increasing the ease of access to absentee ballots is seen by many as one way to improve voter turnout through convenience voting, though some countries require that a valid reason, such as infirmity or travel, be given before a voter can participate in an absentee ballot. Early voting overlaps with absentee voting. Early voting includes votes cast before the official election day(s), by mail, online or in-person at voting centers which are open for the purpose. Some places call early in-person voting a form of "absentee" voting, since voters are absent from the polling place on election day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postal voting</span> Voting, election, ballot papers, distributed to electors or returned by post, mail

Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system.

India has a parliamentary system as defined by its constitution, with power distributed between the central government and the states. India's democracy is the largest democracy in the world.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the procedure of elections in the United Kingdom

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Election day</span> Day when elections are held

Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday. However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. Countries which permit absentee ballots, early ballots or postal votes to be cast by mail before the election avoid the problem altogether by enabling voters to vote on a day that is more convenient to them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voter identification laws</span> Laws requiring proof of identity to vote

A voter identification law is a law that requires a person to show some form of identification in order to vote. In some jurisdictions requiring photo IDs, voters who do not have photo ID often must have their identity verified by someone else or sign a Challenged Voter Affidavit in order to receive a ballot to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postal voting in the United States</span> Overview of topic

Postal voting in the United States, also referred to as mail-in voting or vote by mail, is a form of absentee ballot in the United States, in which a ballot is mailed to the home of a registered voter, who fills it out and returns it by postal mail or drops it off in-person at a secure drop box or voting center. Postal voting reduces staff requirements at polling centers during an election. All-mail elections can save money, while a mix of voting options can cost more. In some states, ballots may be sent by the Postal Service without prepayment of postage.

Absentee voting in the United Kingdom is allowed by proxy or post for any elector.

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Convenience voting is any form of voting that does not occur on the day of the election at the voting precinct. This may involve changing the timing of voting so that it still occurs at the polling place, but not on election day, or changing the location of voting so that it still occurs on election day, but not at the polling place. It can also mean changing both the location and timing of voting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postal voting in the 2020 United States elections</span> Overview of postal voting in the 2020 United States elections

Postal voting played an important role in the 2020 United States elections, with many voters reluctant to vote in person during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The election was won by Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate. The Republican candidate President Donald Trump made numerous false claims of widespread fraud arising from postal voting, despite nearly-universal agreement to the contrary, with overwhelming amounts of supporting evidence, by the mainstream media, fact-checkers, election officials, and the courts.

The Election Integrity Act of 2021, originally known as the Georgia Senate Bill 202, is a law in the U.S. state of Georgia overhauling elections in the state. It replaced signature matching requirements on absentee ballots with voter identification requirements, limits the use of ballot drop boxes, expands in-person early voting, bars officials from sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms, reduces the amount of time people have to request an absentee ballot, increases voting stations or staff and equipment where there have been long lines, makes it a crime for outside groups to give free food or water to voters waiting in line in order to solicit votes, gives the Georgia General Assembly greater control over election administration, and shortens runoff elections, among other provisions.

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