Across the country, voting in the general election will take place on November 5, 2024. For those of you domiciled in Florida, South Dakota and Texas, keep reading to learn important dates and ensure you are prepared to vote.
Voting Absentee in Sumter County, Florida
Registering to Vote
In Sumter County, Florida you must register to vote at least 29 days before the day of the election. You can get your application for registration via the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections. First-time registration must be mailed in or delivered in person. Renewals can be completed online, by mail, or in person.
For the 2024 election cycle, voter registration deadlines are as follows:
- Primary Election- July 22, 2024
- General Election- October 7, 2024
Once you have registered, you may request your vote by mail ballot in person, by mail, fax, phone, email or by completing your request online through the Supervisor of Elections’ website.
Registered voters may also check the status of their ballot, confirm registration, request a vote by mail ballot, and more via Florida’s voter look-up tool.
Vote by mail ballots are sent 33-40 days ahead of the the election for both Primary and General Elections. Ballots must be received by Sumter County Supervisor of Elections Office by 7:00 PM local time on the day of the applicable election.
- Primary Election- August 20, 2024
- General Election- November 5, 2024
For the most current voting information for Sumter County, visit sumterelections.org.
Voting Absentee in Pennington County, South Dakota
Registering to Vote
In Pennington Country, South Dakota, you must register to vote at least 15 days before the day of the election. You can get your application for registration online.
For the 2024 election cycle, voter registration deadlines are as follows:
- Primary Election- May 20, 2024
- General Election- October 21, 2024
More information on requesting an absentee ballot is available on the Pennington County website. Once on the site, scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the “Vote By Mail or In Person” section.
Registered voters may check the status of their ballot and other voter-related information via the Secretary of State’s website.
Absentee ballots are available 46 days prior to Primary and General Elections. Your voted ballot MUST be received by your County Election Official on Election Day in enough time to deliver your ballot to your voting precinct before the polls close. It is recommended to get your voted ballot in to the County Election Office before Election Day.
- Primary Election- June 4, 2024. Absentee voting begins April 19, 2024.
- General Election- November 5, 2024. Absentee voting begins September 20, 2024.
For the most current voting information for Pennington County, visit https://www.pennco.org/vote.
Voting Absentee in Polk County, Texas
The Primary Election for Polk County, Texas is March 5, 2024. The General Election is November 5, 2024.
Registering to Vote
In Polk County, Texas you must register to vote at least 30 days before the day of the election. You can get your application for registration via VoteTexas.gov, a website created by the Texas Secretary of State.
For the 2024 election cycle, registration deadlines are as follows:
- Primary Election- February 5, 2024
- General Election- October 7, 2024
Early Voting
Early voting in the Primary Election is February 20- March 1, 2024.
You can only vote early by mail (they do not call it absentee voting in Texas) if:
(1) you will be away from your county on election day and during the hours that early voting is conducted; or
(2) you are sick or disabled; or
(3) you are 65 years of age or older on election day; or
(4) you are confined in jail.
Voting by Mail
In Texas, voting absentee is a bit more complicated than in Florida and South Dakota.
Even if you have already filed to vote absentee in the primary and run-off elections held earlier in the year, you must request yet again to vote absentee in the general election unless you are 65 or older and then you only need to request absentee voting annually.
Click here for the application to vote-by-mail.
For the 2024 election cycle, you can submit your request to vote by-mail as early as January 1, 2024. Submission deadlines are as follows:
- For the Primary Election, vote-by-mail ballots must be requested by February 23, 2024.
- For the General Election, vote-by-mail ballot requests may be received as early as January 1 and as late as October 25.
Want to see the full list of dates for 2024? Visit the VoteTexas website.
Once your application is received by the County Clerk, a ballot will then be mailed to you.
The ballot must be mailed to an address outside of Polk County unless you are 65 or older or disabled (no proof necessary); however, you must indicate your reason for applying for an absentee ballot, e.g. disabled, away traveling, etc.
Escapees Mail Service members who will be traveling outside of Polk County may have their ballots sent to the following address for a $5.00-per-ballot fee charged to their postage account to help defray the costs for this service.
Your Name
c/o Escapees RV Club
PO Box 1578
Shepherd, TX 77371
This box is for Escapees members who will be away traveling and do not have a secure temporary mailing address that they are comfortable using. Escapees Mail Service agents will forward these ballots on to you, but it is important to recognize that this can cause an additional time delay. It is always best to have your applications and ballots sent directly to you if at all possible.
You can mail your complete ballot via USPS, UPS, FedEx to:
101 W Mill ST
Ste 265
Livingston TX, 77351
Completed mail-in ballots must be received by the county clerk by November 5, 2024 (Election Day) at 7:00 p.m. if carrier envelope is not postmarked, OR Wednesday, November 6, 2024 (next business day after Election Day) at 5:00 p.m. if carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day.
