How to vote · 2026
District of Columbia
Ballot mailed to every voter
Every date below comes from the District of Columbia election office and links to the page that states it. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Dates and rules
Registration, mail ballots, and early voting
Registration deadlineOctober 25, 2026Online/mail registration by Oct. 13, 2026 (21 days before); in-person at DCBOE through Oct. 25; same-day registration during early voting and on Election Day at vote centers.
Mail ballots first sentSeptember 28, 2026Every registered voter is mailed a ballot automatically. DCBOE's 2026 general election calendar lists Monday, Sept. 28, 2026 (marked tentative) as the day the Board begins mailing ballots to registered voters. An application is needed only to receive a ballot at a different address (by Oct. 19).
Return rulePostmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 13, 2026 (10 days)
Early in-person votingOctober 26, 2026through November 1, 2026 · Early vote centers open Oct. 26-Nov. 1, 2026; ballot drop boxes open from Oct. 9.
Official DC election site ↗Dates last verified against the official site September 1, 2026.Sources: [1] DCBOE 2026 General Election calendar (rev. 1/26/2026): Board begins mailing ballots Sept. 28 (tentative); mailed-ballot receipt deadline Nov. 13; registration deadlines[2] USA.gov directory of official state election offices[3] All-mail; mail voting from Sept. 28, 2026[4] CEIR 2026 voter registration deadlines (June 25, 2026 dataset; per-mode deadlines and same-day registration windows)[5] NCSL Table 11 (updated Dec. 2025): ballot receipt/postmark deadline
Every state
Compare District of Columbia with the rest of the country.
The full table of mail-ballot send dates, registration deadlines, and early-voting windows for all fifty states and DC, plus the documented record of government actions on mail voting this cycle.
Back to Ballot Watch →