Pew Charitable Trusts reports that more than four million Americans have already cast their vote for the 2016 election that officially occurs on Tuesday, November 8. 

Early voting has steadily increased in popularity since the early 1990s, and now 28 states offer “no-excuse” absentee ballots, Pew reports. Nearly 36% of all votes were cast non-traditionally in 2012.

In light of this new trend, local governments are making the adjustments necessary to create a stress-free election environment and provide information to residents who want to perform their civic duty before the official Election Day. Here are some examples of what communities doing to accomplish this:

• In Boulder, Colo., drive-by ballot drop-off locations were open as early as Nov. 4 and were promoted through social media.
• “Drive-by ballot drop-off locations were open in #Boulder, including several that are open 24 hours a day.”
• Boston’s Election Department, civic groups, and Mayor Marty Walsh are running a multifaceted campaign around getting out the early vote, which includes the hashtag #VoteEarlyBoston. The mayor began tweeting about it on October 21, and the department continues to update the public daily on polling places that are open and the number of votes cast so far.  

 

• Douglas County, Kansas also utilized Twitter to get the word out about an election day special offer.
• “Ride the T for free on Election Day (Nov 8). Read more: https://t.co/ESVPtheeo9”
• GovTech explains how places like Cobb County, Ga., and Forsyth County, N.C., have implemented GIS applications to give the public easy access to polling-station wait time information, along with other relevant election data.

For information about ballot initiatives affecting local governments, check out this article.