Early Voting

[Freckles]

Oregon is "Vote by Mail" and I received my ballot earlier this week. I'll complete and mail my ballot next week. Don't want to complete it too early, in case there is some last minute disclosure that might affect my ballot opinions.

[Grace]

Oregon is "Vote by Mail" and I received my ballot earlier this week. I'll complete and mail my ballot next week. Don't want to complete it too early, in case there is some last minute disclosure that might affect my ballot opinions.

I think Oregon's system is fantastic!! Have there ever been any real problems with it? I wish Michigan would come up with a similar system.

I voted today and plan to vote once a day until the contest is over.

Sure you will - you're in La-La Land

[JenBKR]

Oregon is "Vote by Mail" and I received my ballot earlier this week. I'll complete and mail my ballot next week. Don't want to complete it too early, in case there is some last minute disclosure that might affect my ballot opinions.

That would be so nice! I wish we could do that here....

No early voting here, but I live in a small town so on election day there's really no wait. I think last time there were 2 people in front of me

[Grace]

There are 34 states allowing early voting - plus the District of Columbia.

According to the Early Voting Information Center (Reed College, Oregon), these states are:

Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, North Dakota, Utah,
Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Ohio, Vermont,
Arkansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Washington,
California, Indiana, Nevada, Oregon, West Virginia,
Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, Tennessee, Wyoming,
Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas

Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia permit "no excuses" early voting in the office of elections official, but require an excuse for mail ballot absentee voting.

New Jersey and Washington State permit no excuses mail-in voting, but do not allow early voting at the elections office.

The State of Oregon is unique in that all voting is by mail-in ballot. There is no machine voting of any kind (this is also true in two small California Sierra Mountains counties, Alpine and Sierra). Also, in 37 of the 39 Washington State counties, there is no machine voting of any kind. Only King County (Seattle) and Pierce County (Tacoma) use voting machines, and in 2009, King County will switch to all-mail balloting.



The Other 16 States:

Alabama, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island,
Delaware, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina,
Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Virginia

In the other 16 states not on the above list and the District of Columbia, an excuse is required for either absentee voting by mail or early voting at the elections office. Typical excuses that allow for mail-in absentee voting or early voting at the elections offices are: documented required absence from the voting precinct or county on Election Day November 4, or a personal or family medical emergency.

If you live in any of these 16 states, check the state elections official's website for absentee voting or early voting instructions.

Note that in these states (except Kentucky, Minnesota and the District of Columbia), there is no early voting, only mail-in voting by persons with the approved excuse. In the District of Columbia, Kentucky and Minnesota you can either vote early in the county clerk's office or vote absentee, if you have the appropriate excuse. In Kentucky, you can vote absentee only if you are absent from the county on Election Day plus all days on which early voting takes place at the county clerk's office.

[CathyBogart]

I voted by mail a week ago.