Current:Home > InvestThe first general election ballots are going in the mail as the presidential contest nears-LoTradeCoin
The first general election ballots are going in the mail as the presidential contest nears
View Date:2024-12-23 16:46:56
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The first general election ballots for the presidential race are going out Wednesday as Alabama officials begin mailing them to absentee voters with the Nov. 5 contest less than two months away.
North Carolina had been scheduled to start sending absentee ballots last Friday, but that was delayed after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. successfully sued to have his name removed from the ballot. He has filed similar challenges in other presidential battleground states after he dropped his campaign and endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump.
While the ballot milestone is relatively quiet and comes in a state that is not a political battleground, it is a sign of how quickly Election Day is approaching after this summer’s party conventions and Tuesday’s first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump.
“We’re ready to go,” said Sharon Long, deputy clerk in the Jefferson County circuit clerk’s office.
Long said her office received ballots on Tuesday and will begin mailing absentee ballots on Wednesday morning to voters who applied for them and to overseas and military voters. Voters also can come to their election office, complete the application and even submit a ballot in person.
Long said her office has received more than 2,000 applications for absentee ballots: “We are expecting heavy interest,” she said.
Alabama does not have traditional early voting, so absentee ballots are the only way to vote besides going to the polls, and even then the process is limited. Absentee ballots in Alabama are allowed only for those who are ill, traveling, incarcerated or working a shift that coincides with polling hours.
The first in-person voting for the fall election will begin next week in a handful of states.
Justin Roebuck, the clerk in Ottawa County, Michigan, who was attending a conference for election workers in Detroit this week, said his office is ready once voting begins in that state.
“At this point in the cycle, it is one where we’re feeling, ‘Game on.’ We’re ready to do this. We’re ready to go,” he said. “We’ve done our best to educate our voters and communicate with confidence in that process.”
Even as election offices have trained and prepared for this moment, an air of uncertainty hangs over the start of voting.
Trump has repeatedly signaled, as he done in previous elections, that only cheating can prevent him from winning, a tone that has turned more threatening as voting has drawn nearer. His repeated lies about the 2020 presidential election have sown wide distrust among Republicans in voting and ballot-counting. At the same time, several Republican-led states passed laws since then that have made registering and voting more restrictive.
In Alabama, absentee balloting is beginning as the state debuts new restrictions on who can assist a voter with an application for such a ballot. Alabama is one of several Republican-led states imposing new limits on voter assistance.
The law makes it illegal to distribute an absentee ballot application that is prefilled with information such as the voter’s name or to return another person’s absentee ballot application.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said it provides “Alabama voters with strong protection against activists who profit from the absentee elections process.” But groups that challenged the law said it “turns civic and neighborly voter engagement into a serious crime.”
___
Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy in Detroit contributed to this report.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Burt Bacharach, composer of classic songs, will have papers donated to Library of Congress
- How Mia Farrow Feels About Actors Working With Ex Woody Allen After Allegations
- Prosecutors drop fraud case against Maryland attorney
- Kristin Cavallari Shares Why She’s Having the Best Sex of Her Life With Mark Estes
- Oprah Winfrey denies being paid $1M for Kamala Harris rally: 'I was not paid a dime'
- Joshua Jackson Shares Rare Insight Into Bond With His and Jodie Turner-Smith's 4-Year-Old Daughter
- Florida man sentenced for attacking Jewish teens
- Is your monthly Social Security benefit higher or lower than the average retiree's?
- Police identify 7-year-old child killed in North Carolina weekend shooting
- Man extradited back to US in killing of 31-year-old girlfriend, who was found dead at Boston airport
Ranking
- How Alex Jones’ Infowars wound up in the hands of The Onion
- RFK Jr. must remain on the Michigan ballot, judge says
- Jax Taylor Shares He’s Been Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder and PTSD Amid Divorce
- Montana Democrat Busse releases tax returns as he seeks a debate with Gov. Gianforte
- U.S.-Mexico water agreement might bring relief to parched South Texas
- Do smartphone bans work if parents push back?
- Arkansas woman pleads guilty to bomb threat against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- Tamra Judge’s Mom Roasts Her Over Her Post Cosmetic Procedure Look on Her Birthday
Recommendation
-
'Joker 2' actor pans DC sequel as the 'worst film' ever: 'It has no plot'
-
Roger Federer understands why there are questions about US Open top seed Jannik Sinner’s doping case
-
Tennis Player Yulia Putintseva Apologizes for Behavior Towards Ball Girl at US Open Amid Criticism
-
Michael Kors Designer Bag Sale: Snag a $378 Crossbody for $55 & Other Under $100 Deals on Fall Styles
-
Chipotle unveils cilantro-scented soap, 'water' cup candles in humorous holiday gift line
-
Mistrial declared after jury deadlocks in rape case of former New Hampshire youth center worker
-
Body of missing Myrtle Beach woman found under firepit; South Carolina man charged: Police
-
Elle Macpherson Details “Daunting” Private Battle With Breast Cancer