EARLY VOTING RULES & TIMETABLES for states & zipcodes 'in play'

[AirAmFan]

EARLY VOTING RULES & TIMETABLES for states & zipcodes 'in play'

You can vote early in EVERY battleground state, though it's much easier in some of them than in others. In Ohio, Pennsylvania, and three other key battleground states, you need to know what to say on an application for an absentee ballot. Republicans know, and are telling everybody likely to vote for their ticket what to say and do to vote early, anywhere in this country. If we want to win, we'd better do likewise.

The table below lists 12 key battleground states and 5 possible swing states in groups according to how difficult it is to vote early. Here's a quick summary:

CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATES:
EASY to vote early: FL IA NV NM WI. Vote early in person or by absentee ballot with no excuse required.
Easy to vote early in person: WV
Easy to vote early by mail: OR

Vote early in person or absentee, with an acceptable excuse: MN MO NH OH PA

POSSIBLE SWING STATES:
EASY to vote early: AZ AR CO NC WA. Vote early in person or by absentee ballot, with no excuse required.

Details follow. The research for this table comes from linked, well-funded early-voting operations of the big business wing of the Republican party, at http://www.agc.org/galleries/default-file/Oct04constructor.pdf , page 27. Another site of theirs, at http://www.ezvote.org , provides zip-code level information. Early voting requirements vary not only by state but by county within a state.

I'll post a similar table and summary for the other 33 states and DC if there's interest.

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COLUMNS

(1) State

(2) Earliest date to start voting early in person (including approximate date for absentee in person)
(3) Must provide an approved reason to do so?

(4) Latest possible date to apply for an absentee ballot by mail
(5) Must provide an approved reason to do so?

(6) 2000 victor and margin


KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES:
Early voting in person or by mailed absentee ballot, with no excuse needed

Florida_________ October_18________ N No_Deadline_______ N Bush, 50.00% 7
Iowa____________ September_23______ N No_Deadline_______ N Gore, 50.16%
Nevada__________ October_16________ N October_26________ N Bush, 51.86%

New_Mexico______ October_5_________ N No_Deadline_______ N Gore, 50.03%
Wisconsin_______ October_4_________ N October_29________ N Gore, 50.12%

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KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE
Early voting in person with no excuse required

West_Virginia___ October_13________ N October_27________ Y Bush, 51.92%

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KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE
Early voting by mail with no excuse required

Oregon__________ All_Voting_by_Mail - All_Voting_by_Mail - Gore, 50.24%

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KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES: 5
Early voting in person or by mailed absentee ballot, with excuse

Minnesota_______ October_4_________ Y No_Deadline_______ Y Gore, 51.29%
Missouri________ September_23______ Y October_27________ Y Bush, 51.71%
New_Hampshire___ October_4_________ Y No_Deadline_______ Y Bush, 50.67%

Ohio____________ September_28______ Y October_30________ Y Bush, 51.82%
Pennsylvania____ September_13______ Y October_26________ Y Gore, 52.15%

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Possible swing states
Early voting in person or by absentee ballot with no excuse

Arizona_________ September_30______ N October_22________ N
Arkansas________ October_18________ N October_26________ N
Colorado________ October_18________ N October_26________ N

North_Carolina__ October_14________ N October_26________ N
Washington______ October_13________ N November_1________ N

[AirAmFan]

1. The potential extra turnout from early voting includes 16 million who

registered in 2000 but did not vote, plus millions of new registrants this year!

Another site in the Republican early-voting web his this research tidbit, at http://bipac.org/detail.asp?id=1298

"Census Bureau figures show that ONLY 12.2% OF REGISTERED VOTERS WHO DIDN'T GO TO THE POLLS IN 2000 SAY THEY HAD NO INTEREST. THAT LEAVES 88.8% OF REGISTERED NON-VOTERS -- MORE THAN 16 MILLION PEOPLE -- who might overcome the 'too inconvenient' or 'I forgot' barriers if an early voting option is easily available."

[AirAmFan]

2. .