So it begins: 2024 presidential election underway as early voting opens in states

Voting in the 2024 presidential election is officially underway.

Local election offices in Minnesota and Virginia opened their doors Friday morning for in-person early voting , the first in the nation to do so. South Dakota also allows absentee voting to be done in person, and absentee ballots became available Friday.

Absentee voting in Alabama started last week, but the state requires a valid excuse and does not have early voting. While Donald Trump teased early voting in Pennsylvania Tuesday, most counties in the state were printing ballots as of Thursday after the Secretary of the Commonwealth certified the candidate list Monday.

Trump faces Vice President Kamala Harris, who is barely two months into her presidential campaign after President Joe Biden dropped out.

With voting officially underway, both candidates may have fewer people to win over in the 45 days left until Election Day.

New ballot-box obstacles: Mapping the states with recent laws that make it harder to vote

Vote-by-mail and absentee ballots starting to trickle in around the country

In addition to Alabama and Pennsylvania, ballots in other parts of the country are becoming available.

After a delay over questions about whether former third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be removed from the ballot, North Carolina will send the first wave of ballots to military and overseas citizens starting Friday. Ballots to other absentee voters who have requested them will be sent on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Wisconsin's deadline to send absentee ballots to those who requested them was Thursday, Sept. 19, a date that has become a sticking point in Kennedy's bid to get off the ballot .

Vermont and New Jersey are also facing deadlines to have absentee ballots available by Saturday.

Voters should check their l ocal election office to find out when and where they can vote.

Presidential campaigns hit battleground states in very close races

While many Americans were dreading a rematch between Trump and Biden, the president's last-minute decision to drop out has made the final months of the election a rollercoaster.

Harris' candidacy has invigorated the Democratic base, as funds and endorsements have flowed in.

The vice president has gained ground in national polls, but pollster Nate Silver is forecasting an incredibly close race.

Both candidates are spending considerable time in key swing states including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, where voters are some of the earliest to receive their ballots.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: So it begins: 2024 presidential election underway as early voting opens in states