Data Dive: 2024 Weekend Availability of Early In-Person Voting

Research by Jane Wright & April Tan

Jane Wright is a Research Intern with The Center for Election Innovation and Research.

In the 2024 general election, 47 states plus Washington, D.C., will offer voters the option to vote early in person. As shown in Figure 1 below, 28 states and Washington, D.C., require early in-person voting to be available on at least some weekends statewide, and 19 states either permit weekend early in-person voting at the discretion of local officials or do not specify at the state level.[1]

Figure 1. State Availability of Weekend Early In-Person Voting, 2024 General Election

Defining Terms.

This data dive uses the phrase “early in-person voting” to refer to voting that is available to all voters and conducted in person before the day of the election. This includes policies referred to by states as early voting, in-person no-excuse absentee voting, and advanced voting.

The availability of early in-person voting on the weekend varies by state and local jurisdiction. For the 2024 general election, all 28 states and Washington, D.C., that require weekend early in-person voting will offer Saturday hours.[2] Thirteen of these jurisdictions also require Sunday hours. Fourteen additional states permit weekend hours at the local level at the discretion of local officials.[3] In five states, state law does not clearly say whether early in-person voting is available on weekends. In these states, local jurisdictions may have the authority to offer weekend hours.

Figure 2. Days of Early In-Person Weekend Voting, 2024 General Election[4]

In the 28 states that require weekend early in-person voting, the minimum number of required days falls between one and four days. Some states also allow local jurisdictions to offer more weekend early in-person voting days at the discretion of local officials. The availability of discretionary weekend days for early in-person voting may depend on population size, local resources, voter demand, or other factors. States that clearly require weekend early in-person voting or outline discretionary weekend days are shown in Figure 3 below.[5]

Figure 3. Number of Weekend Early In-Person Voting Days Available, 2024 General Election

States may offer additional weekend hours beyond what is described in this data dive. The information in this data dive is current as of August 15, 2024. Voters should check with their local election official for specific hours and locations for early in-person voting. For more information on early in-person voting start and end dates in the 2024 general election, see the CEIR Focus Brief on Dates for 2024 Early In-Person and Mail Voting.

What about early voting on holidays?

If a state or federal holiday occurs during the early in-person voting period, voters should check with their local election official to see if holiday early voting hours are available. Eight states have laws that either require or permit early in-person voting on legal holidays, but most states do not specify.

For the 2024 general election, early in-person voting periods in 29 states and Washington D.C., do not overlap with a state or federal holiday. Early in-person voting in one state (Nevada) overlaps with a state holiday, and voting locations are open on that holiday. In eight states where early in-person voting periods overlap with the mid-October federal holiday, early in-person voting is required statewide or permitted in local jurisdictions. In just two states where the early voting period overlaps with the holiday, locations for early voting are closed statewide. The early in-person voting period in the remaining seven states overlaps with the mid-October federal holiday, but the states do not specify policies for holiday closures.

This data dive is part of CEIR’s ongoing research into voting before election day. To learn more, visit:

The Expansion of Voting Before Election Day, 2000-2024

CEIR Focus Brief: The Growing Use of Voting Before Election Day

CEIR Focus Brief: Dates for 2024 Early In-Person and Mail Voting

Data Dive: The Growth of Early In-Person and Mail Voting

Table 1. Early In-Person Voting Dates and Weekend Availability[6]

For more information on early in-person voting in a specific state, click on the state’s name to be directed to their early in-person voting website.

Additional Notes and Resources

[1] The information in this data dive was collected from state statutes, election procedure manuals, election calendars, and state election websites. State categorizations are based on publicly available data and weekend availability may be specified at the local level.

[2] Massachusetts requires jurisdictions with at least 25,000 registered voters to offer early in-person voting on each weekend day. Jurisdictions with less than 25,000 registered voters may choose to offer weekend hours on Saturday and/or Sunday. Sources indicate that jurisdictions with less than 25,000 registered voters typically offer weekend hours on Saturdays.

[3] States without clear requirements or guidance on weekend hours were categorized as permitting weekend hours if other sources (e.g., news articles and local election websites) confirmed that at least one local jurisdiction offers weekend hours in the 2024 general election or offered weekend hours in a recent primary or general election.

[4] States that require early in-person voting on the weekend may only require weekend hours for certain weekend days in the voting period.

[5] Figure 3 includes states that require weekend early in-person voting days and states that have clear statewide guidance for discretionary weekend days in the early in-person voting period based on statute, election calendars, election procedure manuals, and state election websites. States without clear statewide requirements or guidance on the availability of weekend days are excluded from this figure, but local jurisdictions in those states may have the authority to offer weekend hours. States and local jurisdictions may have additional guidance for weekend days that are not publicly available at this time.

[6] The start and end dates in this table only reflect statewide dates and do not include earlier or later dates that are set at the discretion of local officials. For states that have both early voting and in-person options to vote by absentee or mail ballot, this data dive only considers dates for early voting. For states that have mandatory statewide in-person options to vote by absentee or mail ballot and allow local election officials to provide additional early voting at their discretion, this table only includes the dates for in-person options to vote by absentee or mail ballot.

[7] The number of required early-in person weekend days is based on state statutes, election procedure manuals, election calendars, and state election websites. States without clear statewide requirements for weekend days were excluded from this column. Local jurisdictions in those states may have the authority to establish weekend hours.

[8] The number of discretionary early-in person weekend days is based on state statutes, election procedure manuals, election calendars, and state election websites. States without clear statewide guidance on discretionary weekend days were excluded from this column. Local jurisdictions in those states may have the authority to establish weekend hours.

[9] Early in-person voting may begin as early as Oct. 21 at the discretion of local officials.

[10] Early in-person voting may end on Nov. 3 at the discretion of local officials.

[11] Massachusetts requires jurisdictions with at least 25,000 registered voters to offer early in-person voting on each weekend day. Jurisdictions with less than 25,000 registered voters may choose to offer weekend hours on Saturday and/or Sunday. Sources indicate that jurisdictions with less than 25,000 registered voters typically offer weekend hours on Saturdays.

[12] Early in-person voting may begin as early as Oct. 7 at the discretion of local officials.

[13] This data dive categorizes Pennsylvania’s early in-person voting as beginning on October 22. This is because early in-person voting in Pennsylvania involves voters applying in-person for a mail ballot at a designated location, then completing and casting the ballot before leaving. This option must be offered once mail ballots are finalized, and no later than October 22. In practice, this may vary by county and could begin earlier statewide if ballots are ready. Under state law, local election officials must begin processing in-person mail ballot applications beginning on September 16. However, due to third-party ballot-access challenges pending in the state supreme court, certified ballots may not be printed and ready to issue to voters until after that date. “Election Day is about 2 months away and ready or not, the first ballots could go out within days,” AP News, September 4, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/early-voting-mail-ballots-election-97c2bd30abf227772481edb4f2cc5413.

[14] Early in-person voting may end as late as Nov. 4 at the discretion of local officials.