Two Weeks Out: Wisconsin, Louisiana and Missouri Open Early Voting as DOJ Seeks Emergency Order on California Ballots

October 20, 2026 · Category: Field & Elections

Three more states opened in-person early voting on Tuesday, October 20, 14 days before Election Day on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and each did it on its own terms.

In Wisconsin, clerks may begin offering in-person absentee voting on October 20; municipal clerks set dates and hours, voters must show acceptable photo ID, and November 1 is the last day a clerk can offer it Wisconsin Elections Commission. Louisiana's early voting runs October 20–27, excluding Sunday, October 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; the deadline to request an absentee ballot is October 30 at 4:30 p.m. for most voters Louisiana Secretary of State. Missouri allows no-excuse in-person absentee voting from the second Tuesday before an election through the day before, with acceptable photo ID or a provisional ballot Missouri Secretary of State.

They join an early vote that has now passed 10 million. NBC News' tracker, which aggregates state totals from TargetSmart and state officials, showed 10,141,268 mail-in and early in-person votes cast nationally in its October 20 update, about 7.1 million by mail and 3 million in person, with 55,569,719 mail ballots requested or sent NBC News.

In California, the dispute over mail ballots escalated on Monday, October 19. The Justice Department filed an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order asking the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to act before ballots from people on its list are tabulated, noting that state law lets counting begin 29 days before the election; the filing records that California and Los Angeles County oppose the request DOJ application. NPR reported the department also announced election-crime charges against 28 noncitizens in California, and Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the department "will not look the other way while noncitizens vote in federal elections" NPR. Charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.

California has pushed back. Secretary of State Shirley Weber had written that the demands "are contrary to both federal and state law," and NPR reported the state has asked for, but not received, the methodology behind the list. NPR also reported that 26 federal judges have dismissed DOJ demands for state voter data. The sources reviewed had not reported a ruling on the restraining-order request as of the morning of October 20.

Why it matters

The new openings show how uneven early voting is from state to state. Wisconsin's hours are set municipality by municipality, Louisiana's window closes October 27, and both Wisconsin and Missouri require acceptable photo ID for in-person absentee voting. Local hours and locations are only as reliable as the official state or county election office that publishes them, and official return files remain the record of who has already voted.

In California, the federal request is still pending, and its outcome could affect how ballots tied to the federal list are processed. Voters with questions about their own registration or ballot status can turn to their county elections office. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

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