# Earliest early voting and mail in ballots **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-early-voting-and-mail-in-ballots/1029896 "2026-05-07T18:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-early-voting-and-mail-in-ballots/1029896/1 "2026-05-07T18:57:18Z")
Ultimately, I’m trying to figure out the earliest date a vote can be cast, either by mail or in-person early, in any state for the November 3, 2026 general election. My Google-fu is failing me and can’t seem to find one convenient map that shows dates for early voting listed by state. In what US state are ballots able to be cast earliest? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-early-voting-and-mail-in-ballots/1029896/3 "2026-05-08T00:07:46Z")
Those 3 states are considered “no-excuse” absentee, you just have to request it in time and it’s given. I suppose it’s important to note that their terminology of “All mail election” in the footnote means that ballots are automatically sent to voters and you can fill it out and mail it back, but **you don’t have to**. For NV, you can drop by a polling place and convert that ballot to a traditional style, or if the mail gets lost you can do some paperwork that among other things, acknowledges that you’re not voting twice. I did basically that last election as mine was mangled so I surrendered it and voted at a rec center. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-early-voting-and-mail-in-ballots/1029896/4 "2026-05-08T05:06:57Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1030246/27): > > in-person absentee voting I just want to note the oxymoron here. How can voting be both in-person _and_ absentee? ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-early-voting-and-mail-in-ballots/1029896/5 "2026-05-08T05:16:53Z")
When you know you’re going to be absent on election day proper, you can vote in-person at an early voting place. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-early-voting-and-mail-in-ballots/1029896/6 "2026-05-08T06:02:21Z")
See the blue button at the bottom in the link for explanation. Or go here. > **[Early Voting in Your State: A Voting Explainer | U.S. Vote Foundation](https://www.usvotefoundation.org/guide-to-early-voting-in-your-state)** > > Early Voting combines the rewarding experience of voting in-person with convenience. This guide explains everything you need to know to vote early in your state. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-early-voting-and-mail-in-ballots/1029896/7 "2026-05-08T07:04:32Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > When you know you’re going to be absent on election day proper, you can vote in-person at an early voting place. Right, it’s just early voting. No need for the oxymoron.