There is no early voting in Delaware, but you can vote early (by mail)

All over the country, people are standing in long lines to get in their votes for the General Election early.

Early voting line GROWING in #Philly outside of City Hall ⁦@KYWNewsradio⁩ pic.twitter.com/gh5IKtP2eo

— Kristen Johanson (KJ) (@KristenJohanson) October 1, 2020

Here in Delaware, there is no early voting at polling places, but you can still place your vote well before the Nov. 3 election — and you should.

If you haven’t requested a mail-in ballot yet, you can do it online via Delaware’s VoterView. If you are a registered voter, this portal will take you to your personal voter page (if you’re not registered, you can do that online, too). Beneath your information are four navigation buttons. Click on “Vote by Mail or Absentee Ballots.” From there, you’ll be guided through the online application, which takes about a minute.

You can request a mail-in ballot until the Friday before the election, but it’s probably not a good idea to wait that long.

You do not need a reason to request a mail-in ballot. In July residents were told that everyone could select “sick” as the reason for requesting a mail-in ballot, but there has since been added a “Mail-in ballot — no excuse needed” option.

Mail-in ballots will be mailed out beginning Oct. 5, and can be returned right away. If you feel nervous about putting your ballot in the mail, you can drop it off at a secure ballot drop box at your county’s Department of Elections Office or at the Carvel State Building lobby at 820 N. French St. in Wilmington during business hours. Sussex County also has a secure 24-hour drop box at the Elections Office in Georgetown.

If you requested a mail-in ballot months ago, before there was a “no excuse needed” option, you may already have your ballot — check your email inboxes.

Of course, you can still vote in person on Nov. 3 at your polling place. Be sure to check online via VoterView to make sure you’re currently registered and that your pooling place hasn’t changed before the day if you choose in-person voting, and of course, remember to wear a mask.

If you’re still unsure of the best way for you to vote in this year’s General Election, the recently formed Voter Communications Task Force, whose members include former Delaware governor Jack Markell, have launched the site votercommunication.org, which offers detailed information about how to vote in each state, and will be updated through Election Day.