Early and absentee voting were first introduced by the states, and now they handle these processes.

The election process is underway in many states, with varying methods of casting ballots. In-person voting began in three states on Friday, while Minnesota and South Dakota allowed absentee voters to cast their ballots. Virginia has made it possible for any registered voter to cast a ballot. Several states have sent absentee ballots to voters overseas or in the military.

The first mail-in ballots will go out Saturday in Maryland and New Jersey.

Every day is like Election Day for presidential campaigns with more voting options available.

At a Greensboro, North Carolina Rally on September 12, Vice President Harris stated, "Your voice is your vote in North Carolina, and you will significantly impact the race's outcome."

Since the Civil War, soldiers have been allowed to vote as if they were present at the polls, even if they were fighting out of state. This practice continued until World War II when every state allowed soldiers to vote absentee.

"In 1978, California became the first state to eliminate excuse absentee voting, prompting some places to consider making voting more convenient."

Some states started to permit limited in-person absentee voting, with Texas and Tennessee being among the first to do so.

In the 2000 election, 21 states offered mail-in voting to all registered voters who desired it, while Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas allowed in-person early voting without an excuse. However, every other state only provided a vote-by-mail option for absentee voters who provided an excuse for not being able to vote in person on election day. Despite this, only 14% of ballots were cast early in 2000.

Both vote by mail and in-person absentee early voting have consistently increased every year until they experienced a significant jump in 2020, according to Fortier.

Fortier stated that 2020 was an exceptional year marked by a significant increase, as well as divergent views among Democrats and Republicans regarding mail-in voting.

The Trump Campaign has attempted to encourage voters to vote by mail, but the former president has consistently criticized all mail elections.

"Former President Trump stated in Rancho Palos Verdes, California on September 13 that the voting system is dishonest because it sends out millions of ballots and some people receive more than others. He believes that if he had an honest vote counter, he would win California."

In eight states and Washington, DC, all-mail elections are still practiced. New Jersey allows the practice in small jurisdictions.

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In place of mail ballots for all voters, seven states have opted for early in-person voting since 2020. As a result, 36 states still permit voters to mail in their ballots.

Fortier believes that while there may be some value in early voting, having four or five weeks of it is not necessarily better than having a couple of weeks of in-person early voting and does not necessarily increase turnout. In his opinion, it is still not very convenient.

The same legal fights have been happening in North Carolina.

Unfortunately, our Republican Supreme Court has ruled that we must destroy all the ballots and reprint them, as the ballots have already been printed, according to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper-D following the presidential debate in Pennsylvania.

North Carolina will send ballots to military and overseas voters on Friday, despite the federal law requiring all overseas ballots to be sent by September 21, which is almost three weeks after the state's initial September 6 deadline for absentee ballots. All other North Carolina absentee ballots will go out next week.

Concerns have been raised by election officials regarding the mail ballot process and vote counting, particularly in states where ballots were sent later than planned. For instance, Pennsylvania will not begin processing mail ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day.

"States aim to implement convenient voting options, but they often overlook the interconnectedness of these options. To enable early voting at multiple locations, a robust database is necessary," Fortier stated.

12 swing states, including Arizona, will start counting ballots before election day, but cannot report the results until November 5th. Meanwhile, 14 competitive states, including Minnesota, will not begin tallying mail ballots until after polls close. In a toss-up state like Nevada, all mail elections are allowed, and ballots that arrive up to four days after election day will still be counted as long as they are postmarked November 5th.

"Fortier, an optimist, believes that things will likely improve in 2021, despite 2020 being an extraordinary year. Arizona has the highest rate of voting by mail among states, which may take a bit longer, but there's a good chance we'll know the outcome unless it's very close."

In August, our Planet Chronicle Poll revealed that Harris had a one-point advantage in Arizona, while the Real Clear Politics average indicated Trump's lead was slightly higher, at just over one point.

"The voting by mail is not likely to be as high or as unexpected. As a result, many states may not be prepared to count the votes quickly. If the results are very close, we may see recounts and contests, which could take a long time to resolve."