General election in-person voting begins in three states

In-person voting officially kicked off in three states on Friday for the 2024 general election, just a little more than six weeks ahead of Super Tuesday in November.

The first mail-in ballots of the general election season were sent out to voters in Alabama last week, which voters are allowed to return at any point up until Super Tuesday on Nov. 5. North Carolina was supposed to be the first state to send out absentee ballots for the general election, but was delayed over a lawsuit from the Kennedy campaign that sought to remove him from the state ballot.

Polling places have now opened for early voting in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Virginia. It is not clear how many people have voted in the three states so far, but one polling location in Minneapolis saw 75 people vote within the first hour, according to the Associated Press.

The start of the voting season comes after a particularly eventful summer in politics, which saw Vice President Kamala Harris become the Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has also survived two assassination attempts, including one in July where his ear was nicked by a bullet.

“If I could wave a magic wand in this room right now, I would wish for two things: Between now and November 5th, I want to see high turnout and low drama,” Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said during a news conference Thursday.

Although just three states have kicked off the 2024 general election season as of Friday, approximately one dozen more states will begin their early voting by the middle of October. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.