Ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, which will see Republican candidate Donald Trump face Democrat nominee Kamala Harris in the polls, millions of Americans have opted to cast their ballot early. At the time of publication, 76 million people have cast early votes.
All but three U.S. states and the District of Columbia offer early voting options, with both the Republican and Democrat Parties actively encouraging early voting among their supporters. A record number of votes have been cast in certain battleground states. According to Rachael Cobb, associate professor of political science and legal studies at Suffolk University in Boston, Mass., early voting has significant benefits for both campaigns and voters.
With in-person early voting, she emphasizes that voters can go and receive whatever support necessary from poll workers.
“[Voters] can see that everything is handled with their own eyes,” Cobb says. She also emphasizes how convenient early voting is, often allowing people to vote at centers close to their work or home, without too much impact to their busy schedules.
Despite the heightened engagement in the electoral system, election officials in multiple different states have reported damaged and vandalized ballot boxes.
Read More: Here’s How Many Americans Have Voted Early in the Presidential Election—So Far
Amid the tight race between Harris and Trump, voters may want to check and see if their 2024 presidential election ballot has been processed. If the vote was cast using a mail-in or absentee ballot, multiple states have online databases through which citizens can input their personal information—such as their name, date of birth, and zip code—and see whether their ballot has been counted. However, some states highlight that a voter’s mail-in ballot could take some time to show up on the respective databases.
As for people who cast their ballot in-person, certain states also have options for voters to track their provisional ballot if they chose to go in-person for early voting. Some allow these voters to input personal information online to see whether their provisional ballot has been counted. If a voter’s state or county does not have this option, they can still use the national hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to check the status of their in-person provisional ballot.
According to Charles Stewart, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., if you cast an in-person vote, there’s “no need” for voters to track the ballot, since they watch it enter the ballot box. Campaigns are more likely to be the ones attempting to verify in-person voting.
“In battleground states for President or anywhere else where there’s a close election, it’s generally the parties and campaigns that do the work of notifying people about their presidential ballot and work to get them in to cure [any] problems,” Stewart tells TIME.
You can click on the below states to check the status of your mail-in ballot: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
There are three states absent from the above list, as they do not offer online ballot tracking. Though Illinois does not have their own state website to check mail-in ballot status, certain counties, like Will County and Macoupin County, do. Check in with your specific county clerk website, and more information should be available there.
Missouri also has no statewide mechanism online to help voters see the status of their mail-in ballot. But, depending on where voters live, tracking still occurs on the local level. Kansas City and St. Louis have both implemented their own online ballot tracking systems. Voters without online tracking systems can call their local election office, for information as to if their ballot has been received.
In Wyoming, citizens are directed to contact their local county clerk, who can share with them if their ballot was received.
Read More: Your Vote Is Safe
Meanwhile, in California, the process depends on what county you are voting in. Some counties require voters to call their election office. The numbers for each office are listed on the state’s website.
Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Arizona are among the states that have their own separate databases for provisional ballots. Ohio and Florida, on the other hand, have their own state-specific hotlines (OHIO-VOTE (866-644-6868) and 833-868-3331 respectively) where voters can call and inquire about the status of their provisional ballot.
It’s important to note: The time it takes for different states to verify ballots varies, as do the methods used to obtain the information.
