Vote Types - Classic Model

Overview
How is Absentee In Person different from Early In Person?

Notes
All election events taking place prior to Aug. 4, 2026 use the classic vote type model described in this topic. The new, 2026 vote type model will be used for all election events taking place on and after Aug. 4, 2026. For more information about the new vote type model, see Vote Types - 2026 Model. For information about requesting vote type data, see Getting Vote Types.

Overview

The availability of specific vote types depends on a particular state; for example, early voting is not available in all states. AP distinguishes between the following vote types (Total of Vote By Type Ballots is not a vote type).

Vote Type	Description
Election Day In Person	(Also known as "poll votes," "polling place votes" or "vote center votes") Votes cast in person at a polling place or vote center on Election Day (may also include Provisional votes in certification).
Provisional	(Also known as "Affidavits," "special ballots" in D.C. and "questioned ballots" in Alaska) Type of ballot used when there are questions about the voter's identity or eligibility to vote. Votes cast by provisional ballot are counted when the voter's identity or eligibility is confirmed. In certified results, provisional votes are often merged within another vote type.
Advance Total	Advance vote total (votes cast prior to Election Day), which may be the sum of the Early In Person, Absentee In Person and/or Absentee Mail vote types, or populated when a further breakdown is not available.
Early In Person	(Also known as "early votes") Votes cast in person at an early voting location before Election Day (if applicable).
Absentee Total	Absentee vote total, which may be the sum of Absentee In Person and/or Absentee Mail, or populated when a further breakdown is not available.
Absentee In Person	Votes cast in person by absentee ballot (if applicable). How is Absentee In Person different from Early In Person?
Absentee Mail	Absentee mail ballot votes (may include ballots deposited in drop boxes, overseas & military ballots, and so on).
In-Person Total	Votes cast in person. This category may be used primarily when a state merges results for Election Day In Person and Early In Person, and no further breakdown is available.
Advance In-Person Total	Votes cast in person (not by mail) prior to Election Day, which may include Early In-Person and/or Absentee In-Person votes, or populated when a further breakdown is not available. Currently, no states apply to this category.

How is Absentee In Person different from Early In Person?

In recent years, a number of states have implemented "no-excuse, in-person” absentee voting. This type of voting does require an application, but the process is often streamlined so that the voter can apply for the ballot, receive it and cast it in one visit to a county election office. Depending on how well it is publicized, this type of voting can be very popular and can result in increased absentee voting rates. This differs from early voting in that the early voter’s eligibility is verified before the casting of a ballot while the in-person absentee eligibility is generally determined after the voter has submitted the ballot.

Early in-person voting is characterized by the following:

It is "in-person" by definition.
It features a finite pre-election voting period (for instance, the 20th day through the 4th day before the election).
There is no voter requirement beyond that the voter has to be on the registration roll/qualified voter list. No application is required.
Early voters cast votes at special or satellite locations, or polling places, in addition to the county election office (as opposed to in-person absentee voting, which is usually limited to the county election office).
Early voters usually cast votes on the same election equipment as Election Day voters (as opposed to the equipment that might be used for the absentee ballots).
Early votes are often cast on the equipment in which they will be tabulated, and often the counties will therefore know the number of early votes cast during each early voting day.
The early voter’s voting experience is similar to that of an election-day voter (as opposed to in-person absentee voters who must sign an application).