There are 71 days until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

But if Americans vote like they did in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast a ballot before the big day.

Early voting starts as soon as Sept. 6 for eligible voters, with seven battleground states sending out ballots to at least some voters the same month.

It makes the next few months less a countdown to Election Day, and more the beginning of ‘election season.’

States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military or people with illnesses. 

In some states, almost every voter casts a ballot by mail.

Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in-person.

That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail.

Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day.

Elections officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election did not reveal evidence of widespread fraud or corruption. 

The difference between ‘early in-person’ and ‘mail’ or ‘absentee’ voting.

There are a few ways to vote before Election Day.

The first is , where a voter casts a regular ballot in-person at a voting center before Election Day.

The second is , where the process and eligibility varies by state.

Eight states vote mostly by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Registered voters receive ballots and send them back.

Most states allow any registered voter to request a mail ballot and send it back. This is also called mail voting, or sometimes absentee voting. Depending on the state, voters can return their ballot by mail, at a drop box, and/or at an office or facility that accepts mail ballots.

In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work hours or if a voter is out of their home county on Election Day.

States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states don’t begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.

Voting begins on Sept. 6 in North Carolina, with seven more battleground states starting that month

This list of early voting dates is for guidance only. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, go to Vote.gov and your state’s elections website.

The first voters to be sent absentee ballots will be in North Carolina, which begins mailing out ballots for eligible voters on Sept. 6.

Seven more battleground states open up early voting the same month, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.

September deadlines

In-person early voting in bold.

Sept. 6

North Carolina – Absentee ballots sent to voters

Sept. 16

Pennsylvania – Mail-in ballots sent to voters

Sept. 17

Georgia – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas

Sept. 19

Wisconsin – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 20

Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
Minnesota, South Dakota – In-person absentee voting begins
Virginia – In-person early voting begins
Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 21

Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
Indiana, New Mexico – Absentee ballots sent
Maryland, New Jersey – Mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 23

Mississippi – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent
Oregon, Vermont – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 26

Illinois – In-person early voting begins 
Michigan – Absentee ballots sent
Florida, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent
North Dakota – Absentee & mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 30

Nebraska – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 4

Connecticut – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 6

Michigan – In-person early voting begins 
Maine – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
California – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
Montana – In-person absentee voting begins
Nebraska – In-person early voting begins 
Georgia – Absentee ballots sent
Massachusetts – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 8

California – Ballot drop-offs open
New Mexico, Ohio – In-person absentee voting begins
Indiana – In-person early voting begins
Wyoming – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent

Oct. 9

Arizona – In-person early voting begins & mail ballots sent

Oct. 11

Colorado – Mail-in ballots sent
Arkansas, Alaska – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 15

Georgia – In-person early voting begins
Utah – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 16

Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee – In-person early voting begins
Iowa – In-person absentee voting begins
Oregon, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 17

North Carolina – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 18

Washington, Louisiana – In-person early voting begins
Hawaii – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 19

Nevada, Massachusetts – In-person early voting begins 
Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas – In-person early voting begins 
Colorado – Ballot drop-offs open

Oct. 22

Hawaii, Utah – In-person early voting begins 
Missouri, Wisconsin – In-person absentee voting begins

Oct. 23

West Virginia – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 24

Maryland – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 25

Delaware – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 26

Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 30

Oklahoma – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 31

Kentucky – In-person absentee voting begins

On the day Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed former president Donald Trump for the presidency, one would expect an outcry from the usual suspects. After all, this is politics. But the most malicious response came from Kennedy’s own family.

For daring to follow his conscience, Bobby was condemned by his siblings in a public statement promoted publicly by his sister Kerry Kennedy, and posted on the social media platform X. Kerry, who dropped the ‘Cuomo’ from her name after her 2005 divorce from Andrew, was the spearpoint of the denunciation within which they excoriated Bobby for betraying ‘the values that our father and family hold most dear.’

Values are worth talking about, and in the midst of this extraordinary time for our country, a response had to made, which I originally posted on X. 

Here is that Open Letter to Kerry Kennedy:

You people are awful. Despite your family’s checkered past and horrible behavior of so many of the men, Americans have stood with you out of loyalty, sentimentality, and too often, grief. Despite the questionable establishment of your family’s wealth, the treatment of Marilyn Monroe, the general womanizing, the abandonment of Mary Jo Kopechne to her death, allegations of rape, one could go on and on, but the point is your family has stayed loyal and protective of family members who have done the most appalling of things. But the moment one of your own acts on his conscience for this country you attempt to throw him to the wolves and publicly condemn him. Never a word for the trail of abused or abandoned women left behind by a Kennedy, but because one of your men supports Trump in an effort to make the lives of Americans better, that alone is beyond the pale.

In your ugly treatment of your brother, you reveal the rot that has broken the hearts of the American people so many times over the years. Beyond that, the economic destruction of American families is something your family would never truly understand. You are not touched by the worry about having enough gas to get to work, or whether or not you can afford eggs this week, if you’ll be safe walking in your own neighborhood, or if your child will be safe in their urban public school or even if they will know how to read and write while collecting their diploma.

You keep doing civil rights work and public service virtue signaling. But in the meantime, make a pledge to not keep doing damage, as Americans are simply looking for a way to reclaim their own futures, the safety of their families, and knowing that maybe, just maybe, they can leave their children a little better off with a future they can rely on. The condition of this country should shock everyone, even if their name is Kennedy. We know it at least shocks one of you who, like us, has had enough of the fear and hopelessness assigned to us for generations.

Americans are happy to see Bobby on our side as we refuse to comply and will not go gentle into the catastrophes to which we are expected to succumb. Instead, with Trump and all who join us, we will fight, fight, fight!

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., recommended that Israel threaten to ‘blow up’ Iran’s oil refineries if the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack are not released soon. 

Appearing on CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ Graham was asked to respond to Israel’s military reporting that it launched preemptive strikes that struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon before a planned attack on Israel this weekend, as well as the hostage and cease-fire talks that are resuming in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday. 

‘How should the U.S. respond to what’s going on in the Middle East? And what is your message to get the cease-fire and hostage release deal across the finish line?’ CNN’s Jake Tapper asked the senator. 

‘Well, number one, I think we got to remember that October the 7th attack was generated, in my view, to stop normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It’s a nightmare for Iran and her proxies, for the Arabs and Israelis to reconcile and make peace and take the region in a different direction,’ Graham said. ‘As to the hostages, I would hold Iran responsible for their well-being.’

‘If I were the state of Israel, I would tell the ayatollah, if these people do not come home alive – the ones that are left alive – and if we don’t get the bodies of the fallen, we’re going to blow up your oil refineries,’ Graham added. ‘That’s the only way you’re ever going to get the hostages released is to put pressure on Iran.’ 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed more ‘surprising blows’ against Iran-backed terrorist groups after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly struck launch sites in Lebanon just minutes before Hezbollah was planning to fire thousands of rockets into central Israel.

 ‘What happened today is not the end of the story. Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning,’ Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Tel Aviv. ‘We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful preemptive strike to remove the threat.’ 

Michael Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the United States, said in an appearance on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ that the IDF operation prevented a wider conflict. 

‘We identified concrete planning and preparation by Hezbollah to launch a massive missile and drone attack into Israel,’ Herzog said. ‘And we carried the real-time operation in order to degrade those capabilities that were about to be launched as well. We were successful. And nevertheless, they launched several hundred rockets into Israel and also drones that were aimed at central Israel. And we intercepted all of them. One of our soldiers was killed by the debris of Israeli interceptors.’ 

‘I believe that the success of our operation yesterday prevented an escalation to a major war,’ he added. ‘This threat is still there. We still need a settlement with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.’ 

Israel faces Iran-backed terrorist groups on multiple fronts: Hamas in Gaza, Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The war in Gaza began when Hamas and other terrorists staged a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, primarily civilians. Hamas is believed to still be holding around 110 hostages. Israeli authorities estimate about a third are dead.

Israel’s military announced the deaths of four more soldiers in combat in central Gaza on Friday.

In Egypt, the U.S. delegation, led by CIA Director William Burns and White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, held talks with senior Egyptian officials and then with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, according to a person familiar with the ongoing talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly.

The Egyptian and Qatari negotiators were expected to meet with Hamas officials on Saturday evening. Hamas won’t take part directly in Sunday’s talks but will be briefed by Egypt and Qatar, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawy told The Associated Press. Merdawy said Hamas’ position hadn’t changed from accepting an earlier draft that would include the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

An Israeli delegation that arrived Thursday included the heads of the Mossad foreign intelligence service and Shin Bet security service and Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.

The U.S. has been pushing a proposal that aims at closing the gaps between Israel and Hamas as fears grow over a wider regional war after the recent killings of leaders of the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups, both blamed on Israel.

President Biden called Netanyahu on Wednesday to stress the urgency of reaching a deal and discussed developments with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed more ‘surprising blows’ against Iran-backed terrorist groups after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly struck launch sites in Lebanon just minutes before Hezbollah was planning to fire thousands of rockets into central Israel. 

‘What happened today is not the end of the story. Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning,’ Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Tel Aviv Sunday morning. ‘We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful pre-emptive strike to remove the threat.’ 

‘The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, and they were all intended to harm our citizens and our forces in Galilee,’ he continued. ‘In addition, the IDF intercepted all the UAVs that Hezbollah launched for a strategic purpose in the center of the country. We are hitting Hezbollah with surprising blows…. Three weeks ago, we eliminated his chief of staff, and today, we foiled his attack plan.’ 

‘Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is another step on the way to change the situation in the north and return our residents safely to their homes,’ Netanyahu added. ‘And I repeat – this is not the end of the story.’ 

In an earlier statement, White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said President Biden ‘is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.’

‘He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening. At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability,’ Savett added.

It was national security adviser Jake Sullivan leading those updates to Biden throughout the night, officials tell Fox News. 

After Hezbollah announced last night that their attack was over, White House officials said they will keep monitoring the situation.

‘There are no indications right now that another round is coming,’ one official told Fox News. 

A Western intelligence official told the New York Times that Israel’s preemptive attack targeted and destroyed missile launchers in Lebanon that had been programmed to fire at 5 a.m. toward Tel Aviv. 

The IDF were able to carry out a preemptive attack on thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon after information gathered from Israeli intelligence agencies, including the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate (MID), found Hezbollah was planning to use them to target strategic military sites in central Israel, including in the Gush Dan region, the Israeli English-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. 

The IDF also intercepted drones traveling from Lebanon that were intended to target central Israel, according to the newspaper. 

Approximately 100 Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed ‘thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,’ the IDF said earlier. ‘Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel, and more than 40 launch areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.’ 

The IDF said its forces struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon to remove threats and identified a terrorist cell operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon. 

‘The IAF swiftly struck the terrorists,’ IDF wrote on X. 

At an earlier news briefing, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli forcesidentified ‘extensive preparation by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to fire toward the Israeli Home Front.’ 

‘After extensive identification, the IAF and Northern Command began proactively and broadly striking Hezbollah targets in order to remove the threats aimed at the citizens of Israel,’ Hagari said. ‘We are removing threats against the Israeli home front. Dozens of IAF jets are currently striking targets in various locations in southern Lebanon. We are continuing to remove threats, and to intensively strike against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.’

The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. Soon after, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, one of its founding members, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

By mid-morning, it appeared that the exchange had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets, according to The Associated Press. 

Israeli Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Hezbollah had intended to hit targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments found ‘very little damage’ in Israel, but that the military remained on high alert. 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and another two were wounded in the strikes in southern Lebanon. 

Separately, a fighter for the Amal group, which is allied with Hezbollah, was killed in a strike on a car, Amal said.

Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel, and a ‘large number’ of drones. It said the operation was targeting ‘a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later’ as well as ‘enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome (missile defense) platforms.’

Hezbollah said the strikes would allow it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel, but a later statement said that ‘military operations for today have been completed.’ The terrorist group said it targeted 11 bases, barracks and military positions in northern Israel, including the Golan Heights, and dismissed Israel’s claim to have thwarted a stronger attack. Hezbollah did not provide evidence for its claims.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was expected to give a speech later on Sunday.

After an emergency government meeting, Lebanon’s caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam said officials were ‘feeling a bit more optimistic’ about a de-escalation.

‘We feel more reassured since both sides confirmed that the expected operations ended, and we know that the negotiations in Cairo are very serious,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Egypt on Sunday is hosting high-level talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which diplomats hope will tamp down regional tensions.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. is expected to make a trip to the Middle East to participate in negotiations. 

‘Over the next few days, the Chairman will visit key allies and partners in the region, Egypt, Jordan and Israel, as a display of the long-term U.S. commitment to the Middle East and to further his understanding of the various perspectives of ongoing tensions,’ Joint Staff spokesperson Navy Capt. Jereal Dorsey said in a statement Saturday. 

Fox News’ Yonat Friling, Lucas Tomlinson, Kate Sprague and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed more ‘surprise blows’ against Iran-backed terrorist groups after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly struck launch sites in Lebanon just minutes before Hezbollah was planning to fire thousands of rockets into central Israel. 

‘What happened today is not the end of the story. Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning,’ Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Tel Aviv Sunday morning. ‘We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful pre-emptive strike to remove the threat.’ 

‘The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, and they were all intended to harm our citizens and our forces in Galilee,’ he continued. ‘In addition, the IDF intercepted all the UAVs that Hezbollah launched for a strategic purpose in the center of the country. We are hitting Hezbollah with surprising blows…. Three weeks ago, we eliminated his chief of staff, and today, we foiled his attack plan.’ 

‘Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is another step on the way to change the situation in the north and return our residents safely to their homes,’ Netanyahu added. ‘And I repeat – this is not the end of the story.’ 

In an earlier statement, White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said President Biden ‘is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.’

‘He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening. At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability,’ Savett added.

It was national security adviser Jake Sullivan leading those updates to Biden throughout the night, officials tell Fox News. 

After Hezbollah announced last night that their attack was over, White House officials said they will keep monitoring the situation.

‘There are no indications right now that another round is coming,’ one official told Fox News. 

A Western intelligence official told the New York Times that Israel’s preemptive attack targeted and destroyed missile launchers in Lebanon that had been programmed to fire at 5 a.m. toward Tel Aviv. 

The IDF were able to carry out a preemptive attack on thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon after information gathered from Israeli intelligence agencies, including the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate (MID), found Hezbollah was planning to use them to target strategic military sites in central Israel, including in the Gush Dan region, the Israeli English-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. 

The IDF also intercepted drones traveling from Lebanon that were intended to target central Israel, according to the newspaper. 

Approximately 100 Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed ‘thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,’ the IDF said earlier. ‘Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel, and more than 40 launch areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.’ 

The IDF said its forces struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon to remove threats and identified a terrorist cell operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon. 

‘The IAF swiftly struck the terrorists,’ IDF wrote on X. 

At an earlier news briefing, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli forcesidentified ‘extensive preparation by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to fire toward the Israeli Home Front.’ 

‘After extensive identification, the IAF and Northern Command began proactively and broadly striking Hezbollah targets in order to remove the threats aimed at the citizens of Israel,’ Hagari said. ‘We are removing threats against the Israeli home front. Dozens of IAF jets are currently striking targets in various locations in southern Lebanon. We are continuing to remove threats, and to intensively strike against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.’

The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. Soon after, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, one of its founding members, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

By mid-morning, it appeared that the exchange had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets, according to The Associated Press. 

Israeli Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Hezbollah had intended to hit targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments found ‘very little damage’ in Israel, but that the military remained on high alert. 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and another two were wounded in the strikes in southern Lebanon. 

Separately, a fighter for the Amal group, which is allied with Hezbollah, was killed in a strike on a car, Amal said.

Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel, and a ‘large number’ of drones. It said the operation was targeting ‘a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later’ as well as ‘enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome (missile defense) platforms.’

Hezbollah said the strikes would allow it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel, but a later statement said that ‘military operations for today have been completed.’ The terrorist group said it targeted 11 bases, barracks and military positions in northern Israel, including the Golan Heights, and dismissed Israel’s claim to have thwarted a stronger attack. Hezbollah did not provide evidence for its claims.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was expected to give a speech later on Sunday.

After an emergency government meeting, Lebanon’s caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam said officials were ‘feeling a bit more optimistic’ about a de-escalation.

‘We feel more reassured since both sides confirmed that the expected operations ended, and we know that the negotiations in Cairo are very serious,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Egypt on Sunday is hosting high-level talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which diplomats hope will tamp down regional tensions.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. is expected to make a trip to the Middle East to participate in negotiations. 

‘Over the next few days, the Chairman will visit key allies and partners in the region, Egypt, Jordan and Israel, as a display of the long-term U.S. commitment to the Middle East and to further his understanding of the various perspectives of ongoing tensions,’ Joint Staff spokesperson Navy Capt. Jereal Dorsey said in a statement Saturday. 

Fox News’ Yonat Friling, Lucas Tomlinson, Kate Sprague and the Associated Press contributed to this report.