Will elections ever be the same? From coast to coast, there continues to be a great deal of controversy over mail-in ballots as well as absentee voting. With millions of Americans choosing to vote by mail, processing and counting those ballots can take additional time. Ballots must be verified according to each state’s election laws and procedures, and close elections can sometimes take days before final results are known.
The ballot-counting process also varies from state to state. In North Carolina, absentee ballots for the 2026 general election must be returned according to the state’s Election Day deadline. In Michigan, regular absentee ballots must be received by local clerks no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. Special provisions and deadlines may apply to military and overseas voters.
Early voting in Louisiana for the Nov. 3, 2026, election will take place prior to Election Day, giving voters an opportunity to cast their ballots in person without waiting until Nov. 3.
There continues to be debate across the country over election rules and how states administer absentee, mail-in and in-person voting. Whatever happened to simply going to the polls on Election Day and casting your ballot? President Donald Trump has continued to call for major changes that would limit voting by mail, and he continues to dispute the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Remember in earlier times how we gathered up our families and drove to our local school or public building to vote? There were enlarged copies of the ballot posted on an outside wall so voters could look over all the choices. Many of us would take our kids or grandkids into the polling location, where permitted, to show them just how democracy works.
Let me share with you how difficult it used to be for me to vote in Louisiana when I served as Secretary of State, a job that included being the state’s chief elections officer. My hometown was Ferriday, Louisiana, which is about a two-hour drive from the state capital in Baton Rouge. The law at that time did not allow for absentee voting if the voter was in the state on Election Day. But my job required that my office be open and that I be present to oversee elections scheduled throughout the state. What was a conflicted public servant to do?
Each Election Day, I would rise at 3:30 a.m. and head from my home in Baton Rouge to Ferriday. My first stop was the local donut shop in Ferriday to pick up several boxes of hot donuts for the polling commissioners, who were all old friends. Then it was off to my polling location, Ward 1, Precinct 1, where I was waiting at the door at 6 a.m. when the polls opened. After a quick visit and casting my vote, I would hightail it back to the state Capitol to oversee Election Day activities. Now that, I think you will agree, is a major effort to cast a vote.
As a former election official, I certainly understand that some people, due to health concerns or having to travel out of state, cannot vote in person on Election Day. But those who do venture out to the polls to cast a vote in this consequential election will be doing election officials, the system and themselves a favor by voting in person if it is at all possible. Such an effort could help reduce the number of mail-in ballots that must be processed after voters have cast their ballots.
Peace and Justice Jim Brown
You can read Jim Brown's past columns and see continuing updates at http://www. jimbrownla.com.
