No-Excuse Early Voting: Thirty-one states allow voters to cast their ballots early even if they are able to make it to the polls on Election Day. Some elections offices use touch-screen voting machines and others allow voters to submit an in-person absentee ballot (see below).

In-Person Absentee: A form of early voting in which voters go to their county elections office, apply for an absentee ballot, fill it out, and submit it to their election official in person.

Excuse Required: If you can’t make it to the polls on Election Day, four U.S. states and the District of Columbia require a valid excuse to vote early and absentee in-person. Requirements vary by state, but can include military service, college attendance, and sickness.

ALABAMA

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Alabama.

ALASKA

No excuse in-person absentee voting is permitted in Alaska starting October 20th and ending on November 3rd.

See the Alaska Division of Elections website for General Election 2008 early voting hours and locations.

As this information is subject to change, please contact your County Elections Office to confirm early voting hours and locations.

ARIZONA

No excuse early voting is permitted in Arizona starting October 2nd and ending October 31st.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office and other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Contact your County Election Commissioner (search by county) to find your nearest early voting location and hours of operation.

ARKANSAS

No excuse early voting is permitted in Arkansas starting October 20th and ending November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office and other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Early voting hours are 8AM-6PM Monday-Friday, and 1PM-4PM on Saturday. There is no early voting on Sundays. Early voting ends at 5PM on November 3rd.

As this information is subject to change, please contact your County Clerk's Office (search by county) to find your nearest early voting location and confirm the hours of operation.

CALIFORNIA

No excuse in-person absentee voting is permitted in California starting October 6th and ending on Election Day, November 4th.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your County Recorder’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

COLORADO

No excuse early voting is permitted in Colorado on weekdays, starting October 20th and ending October 31st.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your County Elections Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

CONNECTICUT

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Connecticut.

DELAWARE

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Delaware.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington DC requires voters to give a valid excuse for voting absentee in-person.

Contact the DC Board of Elections and Ethics (202) 727-2525 to find out if you qualify to vote absentee in person and to find your nearest early voting location and its dates/hours of operation.

FLORIDA

No excuse early voting is permitted in Florida starting October 20th and ending November 2nd.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office and other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local Supervisor of Elections’ Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

GEORGIA

No excuse in-person voting is permitted in Georgia starting September 22nd and ending October 31st.

Early voting locations for the 2008 General Election can be found here .

As this information is subject to change, please contact your County Board of Registrar’s Office to confirm your local early voting hours and locations.

HAWAII

No excuse in-person absentee voting is permitted in Hawaii starting October 21st and ending November 1st.

See the Hawaii Office of Elections website for General Election 2008 early voting hours and locations.

As this information is subject to change, please contact your County Clerk’s Office to confirm early voting hours and locations.

IDAHO

No excuse early voting is permitted in Idaho starting September 12th and ending November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your County Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

ILLINOIS

No excuse early voting is permitted in Illinois starting October 14th and ending October 30th.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local Election Authority to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

INDIANA

No excuse absentee in-person voting is permitted in Indiana starting October 6th and ending at noon on November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your County Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

IOWA

No excuse absentee in person voting is permitted in Iowa starting September 25th and ending November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local County Auditor’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

KANSAS

No excuse early voting is permitted in Kansas. The majority of County Clerks start early voting on October 15th and end on November 3rd but it is important to call and confirm these dates with your County Clerk's Office as they are free to determine their own early voting dates for the 2008 election.

KENTUCKY

Kentucky requires voters to give a valid excuse for voting early. Please see the State Board of Elections site (scroll down) for early voting requirements.

Contact your County Clerk’s Office for more information.

LOUISIANA

No excuse early voting is permitted in Louisiana starting October 21st and ending October 28th.

Early voting generally takes place at the Parish Registrar of Voters Office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local Parish Election Official’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

MAINE

No excuse in-person absentee voting is permitted in Maine starting September 26th and ending November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at the Municipal Clerk’s Office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local Municipal Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

MARYLAND

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Maryland.

MASSACHUSETTS

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Massachusetts.

MICHIGAN

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Michigan.

MINNESOTA

Minnesota requires voters to give a valid excuse for voting early. Please see the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Website for in-person absentee requirements.

Contact your county elections official for more information.

MISSISSIPPI

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Mississippi.

MISSOURI

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Missouri.

MONTANA

No excuse in-person absentee voting is permitted in Montana starting October 6th and ending November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at the County Clerk’s Office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local County Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

NEBRASKA

No excuse early voting is permitted in Nebraska starting October 29th and ending November 3rd.

In person absentee voting generally takes place at your local election office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your Local Elections Official’s Office to find your nearest in-person absentee voting location and its hours of operation.

NEVADA

No excuse early voting is permitted in Nevada starting October 18th and ending October 31st (some smaller counties will wrap up early voting on October 30th – please call to confirm.)

Early voting generally takes place at the County Clerk’s Office. Specific times, dates and locations vary by county. As all of this information is subject to change, please contact your local County Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

No excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in New Hampshire.

NEW JERSEY

No excuse early voting is permitted in select counties in New Jersey until November 3rd at 3PM.

Please call your County Clerk's Office for more information.

NEW MEXICO

No excuse early voting is permitted in New Mexico starting October 18th and ending November 1st.

Early voting generally takes place at the County Clerk’s Office. Specific times, dates, and locations vary by county. As all of this information is subject to change, please contact your local County Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

NEW YORK

New York requires voters to give a valid excuse for voting absentee in-person. Please see the New York Secretary of State's website for in-person absentee requirements.

Contact your County Elections Board for more information.

NORTH CAROLINA

One-Stop Absentee Voting is permitted in North Carolina. A North Carolina resident who is qualified to register to vote may register in-person and vote a One-Stop Site in the person's county of residence between October 16th and November 3rd.

Regular early voting is also permitted for North Carolina residents who have already registered starting October 16th and ending November 3rd.

See the North Carolina State Board of Elections Website for General Election 2008 early voting hours and locations.

As this information is subject to change, please contact your County Board of Elections to confirm early voting hours and location.

NORTH DAKOTA

No excuse early voting is permitted in North Dakota starting October 20th and ending November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local County Recorder's Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

OHIO

No excuse in-person absentee voting is permitted in Ohio starting September 30th and ending November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local Board of Elections Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

OKLAHOMA

No excuse in-person absentee voting is permitted in Oklahoma on October 31st from 8AM to 6PM and November 1st from 8AM to 1PM.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local Board of Elections Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

OREGON

No-excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Oregon because the entire election is conducted by absentee ballot.

PENNSYLVANIA

No-excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Pennsylvania.

RHODE ISLAND

No-excuse early voting and in-person absentee voting are not permitted in Pennsylvania.

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina requires voters to give a valid excuse for in-person absentee voting. Please see the South Carolina State Election Commission’s Website for absentee requirements.

Contact your County Election Commission for more information.

SOUTH DAKOTA

In-person absentee voting is permitted in South Dakota starting September 23rd and ending on Election Day, November 4th.

In-person absentee voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your County Auditor to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

TENNESSEE

No excuse early voting is permitted in Tennessee starting October 15th and ending October 30th.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local our County Commissioner’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

TEXAS

No excuse early voting is permitted in Texas starting October 20th and ending October 31st.

Early voting generally takes place at your County Clerk’s office or other designated early voting sites throughout the county. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your local County Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

UTAH

No excuse early voting is permitted in Utah starting October 21st and ending October 31st.

Visit “Leave Your Print:” Utah’s Election Information site for General Election 2008 early voting hours and locations.

As this information is subject to change, please contact your County Board of Elections to confirm early voting hours and location.

VERMONT

No excuse early voting is permitted in Vermont starting October 4th and ending November 3rd at 5PM.

Early voting generally takes place at your Town Clerk’s office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your Town Clerk’s Office (scroll down to page 4 for Town Clerk contact information) to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.

VIRGINIA

Virginia requires voters to give a valid excuse for voting absentee in-person. Please see the Virginia State Board of Elections Website for in-person absentee requirements.

Contact your Local Elections Board for more information.

WASHINGTON

No excuse early voting is permitted in two counties in Washington until November 3rd.

Please call either the King County Auditor or the Pierce County Auditor for early voting hours and locations. Select other counties have drop-boxes where absentee ballots can be submitted in person. Please contact your local County Auditor.

WEST VIRGINIA

No excuse early voting is permitted in West Virginia Starting October 15th and ending November 1st.

Early voting generally takes place at your County Clerk’s Office. The Secretary of State has posted a statewide list of Early Voting times here . As this information is subject to change, please contact your County Clerk’s Office to confirm this information.

WISCONSIN

No excuse in-person absentee voting is permitted in Wisconsin until November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at your Municipal Clerk’s office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your Municipal Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its dates/hours of operation.

WYOMING

In-person absentee voting is permitted in Wyoming starting September 25 and ending November 3rd.

Early voting generally takes place at your local elections office. Specific times and locations vary by county. Please contact your County Clerk’s Office to find your nearest early voting location and its hours of operation.