As summer is still ongoing, the 2024 U.S. presidential election has already kicked off with fervor. Soon, some voters will head to the polling stations to cast their ballots as the election day approaches.
Virginia, South Dakota, and Minnesota will begin offering “vote early with an absentee ballot” starting on September 20th for the election on November 5th, allowing voters who are unable to physically visit the polling stations on the election day to vote early.
In Virginia, registration offices across the state will gradually open for “in-person absentee voting”, continuing until 5 PM on November 2nd. The state’s election website lists the early voting locations, with some opening weeks after September 20th.
In Virginia, voters are not required to provide any reason to participate in the one-and-a-half-month early voting period. This is due to legislation enacted in 2020, along with a series of other laws expanding the scope of absentee voting in the state – such as allowing absentee ballots postmarked within three days after election day to be accepted.
Minnesota also has a similar absentee voting system, which started on September 20th. According to state law, absentee voting must continue until the Saturday before election day, with the voting hours from 9 AM to 3 PM.
Minnesota has expanded the scope of both absentee and regular voting in recent years. A law that took effect in June 2024 created a permanent absentee voter list and allowed college students residing in the state to register using student housing lists and any form of photo identification, not just student IDs.
Absentee voting in South Dakota also began on September 20th.
The South Dakota Secretary of State’s website informs residents: “Registered voters may vote in-person at the county auditor’s office with a valid photo ID after the start of absentee voting.”
Like its northern neighbor, South Dakota is a deeply red state. While Virginia and Minnesota lean blue (Democratic voters outnumber Republican voters), there may be a fierce showdown in this election.
During the Republican National Convention in July, Lara Trump, former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, stated during her speech at the Fiserv Forum that Biden (the Democratic nominee at the time) was “vulnerable” in Minnesota and a few other traditionally Democratic states.
However, Trump is now facing a challenge from Vice President Kamala Harris. In early August, Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
In recent weeks, Harris’ lead in Minnesota has narrowed in the opinion polls. According to an average from FiveThirtyEight, her lead has decreased from over 9 percentage points to less than 7 percentage points.
A poll conducted in September on over 1,600 potential voters in Minnesota showed Harris leading Trump by only 5 percentage points in the state. Democrats have not lost in Minnesota since 1972, when incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon narrowly defeated Democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota.
Biden won the state in 2020 by over 7%. Throughout the campaign, he consistently led in the polls against Trump.
In the state’s Senate race, incumbent Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar is facing off against Republican candidate and former NBA player Royce White.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s averages, Harris has a larger lead in Virginia, reaching 7.6 percentage points.
When Biden was still a candidate, some polls showed former President Trump leading. A poll conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University in early July showed Trump leading by 3 percentage points in the state. A survey conducted in August by the same institution showed Harris leading Trump by 13 percentage points.
Since July, Hung Cao, the Republican Senate candidate in Virginia and a former U.S. Navy officer of Vietnamese descent, has trailed significantly behind incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine by over 10 percentage points in the state’s polls.