How to check if your 2024 election vote has been counted

APresiding over the US presidential elections on November 5, which will pit Republican candidate Donald Trump against Democrat candidate Kamala Harris in the polls, millions of Americans have chosen to cast their votes early. At the time of publication, 76 million people have cast early votes.

All but three US states and the District of Columbia offer early voting options, with both the Republican and Democratic Parties actively encouraging early voting among their supporters. A record number of votes were cast in certain battleground states. According to Rachael Cobb, associate professor of political science and legal studies at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, early voting has significant benefits for both campaigns and voters.

By voting early in person, she emphasizes that voters can get all the support they need from poll workers.

“(Voters) can see everything being handled with their own eyes,” Cobb said. She also emphasizes the convenience of early voting, which often allows people to vote at centers close to work or home without too much impact on their busy schedules.

Despite increased involvement in the electoral system, election officials in multiple states have reported damaged and destroyed ballot boxes.

Read more: Here’s a look at 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 if their ballot for the 2024 presidential election has been processed. If the vote was cast via a mail-in or absentee ballot, several states have online databases that allow citizens to enter their personal information – such as their name, date of birth and zip code – and see if their ballot has been counted. However, some states emphasize that it may take some time for a voter’s ballot to appear in their respective databases.

As for people casting ballots in person, certain states also have options for voters to track their provisional ballot if they choose to go in person for early voting. Some allow these voters to enter personal information online to see if their provisional ballot has been counted. If a voter’s state or province 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 professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, there is “no need” for voters to follow the ballot when voting in person because they will see it arrive at the ballot box. . More likely, they are campaigns trying to verify in-person voting.

“In presidential battleground states or anywhere close to an election, it is generally the parties and campaigns that do the work of letting people know about their presidential vote and making sure they address (any) issues solve,” Stewart tells TIME.

You can click on the states below to check the status of your 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.

Three states are missing from the list above because they do not offer online voting registration. While Illinois does not have its own state website to check the status of mail-in ballots, some counties, such as Will County and Macoupin County, do. Contact your specific district administrator’s website. More information should be available there.

Missouri also does not have a statewide online mechanism to help voters see the status of their ballot. But depending on where voters live, tracking still takes place at the local level. Kansas City and St. Louis have both implemented their own online voter tracking systems. Voters without online tracking systems can call their local elections office for information about receiving their ballot.

In Wyoming, citizens are asked to contact their local county clerk, who can share with them whether their ballot has been received.

Read more: Your vote is safe

Meanwhile, in California, the process depends on which county you vote in. Some counties require voters to call their elections 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.