Multiple US States Open Absentee Voting for November Midterms

Election officials across several states began distributing absentee ballots and urging voter registration on September 21 for the November 3 midterm elections. In Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced that over 986,000 voters have been approved for mail-in ballots, with the state implementing a new streamlined toolkit for on-demand voting.

Mississippi also opened absentee voting, introducing a process under House Bill 859 where in-person absentee ballots are fed directly into voting machines instead of being sealed in envelopes to reduce disqualifications. In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Elections Commission reported nearly 300,000 absentee ballot requests. The state's election includes a high-stakes gubernatorial race between David Crowley and Tom Tiffany, as well as several constitutional amendments.

Michigan officials are currently promoting registration for the November contest, which will determine the state's governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. Absentee ballots in Michigan are scheduled for distribution starting September 24, with early in-person voting running from October 24 through November 1. While Mississippi accepts mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day, Pennsylvania requires ballots to be received by county offices by 8 p.m. on November 3.