How State Voting Laws Impact 2024 Elections

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We may all get the chance to vote for president of the United States in November, but how we vote, where we vote and how we prove we’re eligible to cast our ballot will depend on where we

live. There’s a good chance that the rules of the road in your state have changed since the last time you voted for the nation’s chief executive.

The U.S. Constitution gives states the power to run our elections. The Founding Fathers set out some basic ground rules, including the terms of the president and members of the House of

Representatives and Senate. The Constitution mandates that people be at least a certain age to run for office and that they be born in the U.S. if they run for president or vice president

(members of Congress can be naturalized citizens). And thanks to the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, you have to be 18 and a U.S. citizen to vote.

States set the rules for everything else, from absentee voting to early voting to whether you need to show an ID to cast your ballot. More than at any other time in history, the rules that

govern our elections have been changing. Since the 2020 election, at least 60 laws have been passed in 27 states that could make it harder to vote, and at least 138 enacted in 36 states and

Washington, D.C., are designed to make it easier for voters to cast their ballots, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. Another giant change: We no longer

collectively elect a president or representative or senator on a single day. Millions of Americans will have already voted by the time polls open on Nov. 5, Election Day 2024, because of

laws that initiated or expanded early voting as well as voting by absentee or mail ballot.

Older Americans turn out to vote in larger numbers than any other age group, and election law changes could disproportionately affect them, advocates and election experts say. In the 2020

presidential election, nearly 66 percent of eligible voters ages 45 to 64 voted, as did 72 percent of those 65 and older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That compared with 48 percent

of eligible voters ages 18 to 24.

AARP is nonpartisan, so we do not endorse any political party or candidate, be it at the local, state or federal level. Nor have we ever given contributions to a candidate or party. But we

do work hard to make sure all older Americans have the access, tools and information they need to vote. 

ONGOING COVERAGE: Get frequently updated news, information, resources and tools related to the 2024 elections at aarp.org/vote.

HOW TO VOTE IN YOUR STATE: Learn more about absentee and early voting, ID requirements and registration in all 50 states.

ISSUES: AARP has targeted Social Security and family caregiving as the top election issues for older Americans this election cycle, and we encourage candidates at all levels to share their

positions with voters.

EASIER VOTING: AARP is working with TurboVote to help older Americans cast their ballots securely and properly. Sign up for election reminders via email and text.

GET INVOLVED: AARP urges voters ­50-plus to let candidates know the everyday challenges that older Americans are facing. Find out how to get involved.

“I think it’s clear to secretaries of state everywhere that you’ve got to provide flexibility for people to vote,” says Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief ­advocacy and

engagement officer. “The days of you just having to show up the day of the election and stand in a long line are gone.”

AARP has a long history of educating its members on voting rules and regulations and has become increasingly active as voting laws have changed. “We know they vote, and they intend to vote,”

LeaMond says. “And so our job is to help them know where, when and how.”

Justin Grimmer, who codirects the Democracy and Polarization Lab at Stanford University, suggests that voters plan early and contact their elections office to see whether voting laws in

their state have changed. He notes that even before many of the changes, voters over 65 throughout the country had access to absentee ballots without needing any reason to request one and

that many of the recent changes expanded that access. “On the whole, I’d be optimistic about older voters having access to mail-in ballots.”

AARP has stepped up to work with state legislatures to ensure that election laws don’t disenfranchise or make it more difficult for older Americans to vote.