DC residents, check your mail! The D.C. Board of Elections has started sending out mail ballots to all registered voters ahead of the Nov. 8 general election and ballots are expected to start landing in mailboxes. Once you receive your ballot, you’re free to fill them out and mail them back in or wait until Oct. 14 when 55 ballot drop boxes will open across the city.
D.C. voters, make sure to check your mail.
The D.C. Board of Elections has started sending out mail ballots to all registered voters in the city ahead of the Nov. 8 general election. Ballots are expected to start landing in mailboxes as soon as this week, after which voters are free to fill them out and mail them back in or wait until Oct. 14 when 55 ballot drop boxes will open across the city.
This is the third consecutive election cycle that D.C. has sent out mail ballots to all registered voters, and the voting method has proven popular: roughly two-thirds of voters in the 2020 general election and 2022 primary election opted to vote using a mail ballot. On Tuesday the D.C. Council will take a first vote on a bill that would make mail voting a permanent feature of future elections.
You can track the status of your mail ballot here (some people have already reported receiving a text message indicating their ballot is in the mail), check your voter registration status here, and update your registration information here. You have until Oct. 18 to update your voter registration information or register to vote for the first time, though D.C. also has same-day voter registration for new voters.
Early in-person voting at 25 vote centers across the city will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, while 65 vote centers will be open on Nov. 8 for Election Day. (Any voter can vote at any vote center, regardless of where in the city they live.) Anyone can drop off a mail ballot at a vote center. D.C. law allows any voter to get up to two hours of paid leave to go cast a ballot.
If you’re looking for information on all the races on the ballot, stay tuned to DCist/WAMU — we will soon publish a comprehensive voter guide. All of our elections-related coverage and guides for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia will be here.