Q&A: Can You Change an Early Vote?

Following news that Montana Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte attacked a reporter on the eve of the special election for the vacant House seat he’s pursuing, there was a flurry of Google searches involving the phrase "change early vote."

The majority of searches originated in Montana, where it’s been estimated that roughly two-thirds of the ballots that’ll be cast in the election were already submitted when news of the incident and Gianforte’s citation for misdemeanor assault broke. Unfortunately for the searchers, Montana doesn’t allow early voters to change their vote after submitting their ballot, but because of their queries in the aftermath of the Gianforte melee we wanted to find out just how many states let early or absentee voters change their ballot.

Popularity of "change early vote" searches on a scale of 0-100 via Google Trends

Of the states that offer early or absentee voting, NBC News reported that at least seven allow absentee voters to change their vote — including Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Connecticut: Absentee voters can change their vote in-person on Election Day if the voter submits a request before 10 a.m. the morning of the election.

Michigan: Absentee voters can request a new ballot in-person at the local clerk’s office until 4 p.m. the day before the election, but they can’t override their absentee ballot by voting in person on Election Day.

Minnesota: Voters can request the cancellation of their ballot until the close of business one week before Election Day, and then either ask for a new ballot to mailed, vote in person early or wait until the day of the election.

Mississippi: Absentee voters can override their ballot by voting in person at their polling place on Election Day.

New York: Absentee voters can change their vote by asking for a new absentee ballot in person up until the day before the election, or voting in person on Election Day. New absentee ballots can only be mailed if they’re requested early enough.

Pennsylvania: Voters can void their absentee ballot by voting in person at their polling place on Election Day, and some counties allow absentee voters to request a second ballot within a certain timeframe.

Wisconsin: People voting by mail can request a new ballot from the municipal clerk the week before the election, but absentee voters can’t vote in-person on Election Day.

Have questions about politics? Let us know! Send us an email and you could see your answer in a future post.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Ben Schumin / Creative Commons)