Washington, D.C
How to vote in DC: Everything to know, including registration info and deadlines
It’s almost Election Day, and it’s time to make sure you are registered and know where, when and how to cast your ballot in Washington, D.C.
Here’s a breakdown of important dates to know, Election Day information, and what to know about voting in the District in the general election on Nov. 5, 2024.
2024 DC voter registration info
Online or by mail: The deadline passed on Tuesday, Oct. 15 for D.C.’s Board of Elections to receive your voter registration application online or by mail — but you can still register during early voting or on Election Day.
To register when you vote, you must provide proof of residence that shows your name and current District of Columbia address. Acceptable forms of proof of residence include:
- A copy of a current, valid government-issued photo ID
- A utility bill for water, gas, electricity, cable, internet, telephone or cellphone service (issued no earlier than 90 days before the election)
- A savings, checking, credit or money market account statement from a bank or credit union (issued no earlier than 90 days before the election)
- A paycheck, stub or earning statement that includes the employer’s name, address and phone number (issued no earlier than 90 days before the election)
- A government-issued document or check from a federal or District agency, other than the Board of Elections (issued no earlier than 90 days before the election)
- A current residential lease or rental agreement
- An occupancy statement from a District homeless shelter (issued no earlier than 90 days before the election)
- A tuition or housing bill from a District of Columbia college or university issued for the current academic or housing term
In person in advance: You also have the option to register in-person at the D.C. Board of Elections office or at a voter registration agency. If you submit your application in person at any of those locations, your application should be received no later than the day before the start of the early voting period on Monday, Oct. 28.
Same-day registration: You may also register in person with proof of residency at Early Vote Centers or at your polling place on Election Day. See the above list for acceptable forms of proof of residency.
How to check if you’re already registered: If you think you’re already registered but want to make sure, you can check on the DC Board of Elections website. You can also update an existing registration on the DC Board of Elections website.
How to get a mail-in ballot in DC
The D.C. Board of Elections automatically sends mail-in ballots to all registered D.C. voters. The board began sending these out on Sept. 30, election officials said.
How to submit a mail-in ballot in DC
Here are your options for submitting your completed mail-in ballot:
- Bring it to any Vote Center during early voting or on Election Day. Early Vote Centers will be open from Monday, Oct. 28, through Sunday, Nov. 3, between 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., and Election Day Vote Centers will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 5 between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. You may deposit your ballot return envelope at any Vote Center during those days and times, without waiting in the in-person voting lines.
- Return it by mail. Your filled-out ballot must be postmarked on or before Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 5) and received by the Board of Elections office no later than the 10th day after Election Day.
- Bring it to a ballot drop box — you can find drop box locations on the DC Board of Elections website.
The District has 55 ballot drop boxes, which opened Friday, Oct. 11. The boxes will be open 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. Election officials will securely collect ballots daily.
You can look up locations of ballot drop boxes on the DC Board of Elections website.
How to vote via absentee ballot in DC
Requesting an absentee ballot: Registered D.C. voters automatically receive an absentee ballot in the mail. The deadline to request a general absentee ballot somewhere other than your usual address was Monday, Oct. 21, but uniformed and overseas citizens have until Nov. 2 under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
Submitting an absentee ballot: The deadline is Nov. 15 for the D.C. Board of Elections to receive completed absentee ballots, postmarked on or before Election Day, from voters.
How to vote early in-person in DC
You can vote early in person from Monday, Oct. 28, through Sunday, Nov. 3, between 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. at an early voting center. Addresses and details for D.C.’s early voting centers are on the DC Board of Elections website, including information on parking and the closest Metro stations to each.
Election Day 2024
The 2024 general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Polls that day will be open in D.C. from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. As long as you’re in line by 8 p.m., you will be able to vote.
Voters in D.C. may cast their ballots at any vote center, regardless of their residential address. Addresses and details for all of D.C.’s Election Day vote centers are on the DC Board of Elections website.
Same-day voter registration is available in D.C., and you can find more information on same-day registration on the DC Board of Elections website.
DC voter ID rules
If your pollbook is marked as “ID REQUIRED,” that indicates you must show identification to vote because the DMV-issued number or the last four digits of the Social Security Number you provided on your registration application could not be verified.
The check-in clerk at your polling place will be able to determine if an ID is required for you to cast your vote. If ID is required but you do not have an acceptable form of ID with you, you may be asked to cast a special ballot and show proof of your ID to the Board of Elections within two days.
Acceptable forms of ID include:
- A copy of a current and valid government-issued photo identification
- A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck (dated no earlier than 90 days before the date that you mail your application — or, if you do not submit proof by mail or online, 90 days before the date you vote)
- Any other government-issued document
Who’s on the ballot in my area of DC?
In addition to the presidential race, D.C. voters will select candidates for D.C. Council members and nonvoting and shadow members of Congress. If you’re not sure what ward of D.C. you live in, you can check on the city’s Office of Planning website.
Look up candidate lists for your jurisdiction on this document provided by the District of Columbia Board of Elections.
Washington, D.C
The director of the Congressional Budget Office—known for its gloomy national debt data—is very optimistic that a crisis will be avoided entirely | Fortune
Dr Phillip Swagel is an optimist, both by nature and when he looks at the U.S. economy.
This fact is perhaps at odds with what one might assume: Swagel is the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the nonpartisan agency that offers independent budgetary and economic analysis to Congress.
Very often—an inevitable occupational hazard—the subject of national debt and the interest the U.S. Treasury pays to maintain is its central focus. The numbers are eye-watering: Public debt stands at more than $39 trillion. The interest expense on that borrowing now exceeds $1 trillion a year. Indeed, the latest budget update from the CBO highlights that the government—according to preliminary estimates—paid out nearly $530 billion between October 2025, when the fiscal year starts, and March 2026. This equates to more than $88 billion in interest payments a month, or more than $22 billion a week.
The CBO’s figures are routinely cited by policymakers, think tanks, and lobbyists as alarming evidence that the U.S. needs to find a more sustainable fiscal path or risk dire straits.
Swagel doesn’t subscribe to the notion that the U.S. will face a crisis of its own making. His justification is simple: He was at the Treasury during the 2008 financial crisis, and joined the CBO months before the COVID pandemic began. He has watched as the U.S. economy, seemingly against all odds, has clawed its way out of economic crises before.
That’s not to say Swagel isn’t a staunch advocate of setting the U.S. on a more sustainable fiscal path—rather, he trusts the people in power to do so when the time comes.
Why the optimism?
Among those concerned about national debt are notable names: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also worried about federal spending and has endorsed a plan floated by Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffett that would render members of Congress ineligible for reelection if they allow deficits to exceed 3% of GDP.
On the other hand, optimistic economists suggest that, despite the value of the debt, it’s not actually an issue: the bond market is holding steady, indicating a reliable market of buyers. Likewise, the U.S.’s own central bank buys huge swaths of the debt, meaning, in the simplest of layman’s terms, the economy can essentially print its own money. There are holes in this argument, not least the fact that Fed chairman nominee Kevin Warsh has suggested he would like to reduce the Fed’s balance sheet and may therefore be less inclined to finance borrowing.
Swagel’s positive outlook doesn’t rely on the argument that a crisis hasn’t happened yet, so therefore it never will: “[My optimism] is rooted in my experience,” Swagel tells Fortune in an exclusive interview in Washington D.C. “First being at Treasury during the financial crisis and seeing very difficult times and the country coming together with an effective response—not saying it’s perfect, lots of controversy—but it was effective.”
“The second thing is policymakers are smart, they’re thoughtful. Interacting with members of Congress makes me optimistic. I know you read about all the squabbles … I’m completely aware of this, but the policymakers that are thinking about these things are thoughtful and effective. Not necessarily always effective at passing legislation, but that’s part of our political system, it was set up to make it difficult ot pass legislation.”
Decisions on the horizon
Swagel’s optimism that Congress will be pushed into action will be tested sooner rather than later, likely at some point in the next six years, he told Fortune. This is partly due to the fact that, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) both Social Security and Medicare will become insolvent within that time period.
“Making progress to address the fiscal trajectory would be a positive for the U.S. economy,” Swagel said. “Credible steps would lead to lower interest rates that would make the subsequent adjustment easier, there is a reward to virtue. It’s a positive thing, we can’t go on [with] the scolding narrative. My sense is that members of Congress understand the fiscal situation, it’s not that everyone single one has looked at our one-pager of numbers and understands the debt to the third decimal point, but they understand something needs to be done.”
“It doesn’t have to be done immediately, but at some point reasonably soon.”
Swagel is of the opinion that bond investors haven’t increased risk premiums not because they’re not worried about a fiscal crisis, but because they have priced in preventative action from Congress—in his mind “a vote of confidence that my optimism is not misplaced.”
“As a country, we face up to these problems. It’s not happening now, I’m not sure it’s going to happen in the rest of this year or even the next year, or the next two years. But we will face up to it, and the market in some sense expects us to, because otherwise interest rates would be higher,” he explained.
The Cheesecake Factory
The role of the CBO, to some extent, is to provide policymakers with their options if and when they do choose to take action on federal deficits. It’s a menu not unlike the Cheesecake Factory, Swagel says: Large, inclusive of a range of modifications and options, and delivered without judgement.
“Right now it’s maybe a pick three, and you’re looking at a six or seven course menu,” joked Caleb Quakenbush, director of fiscal policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, in an interview with Fortune. “The longer you delay, the more you’re gonna have to add to your tab, and those options become more expensive.”
Indeed, economists and analysts aren’t necessarily worried about the absolute level of government debt, rather the debt-to-GDP ratio. Depending on whom you ask, the debt-to-GDP ratio stands at around 122% of GDP at present. This measure demonstrates an economy’s spending versus its growth, and the risk associated with lending to a nation that isn’t growing fast enough to handle its spending. To rebalance that ratio, an economy could either cut spending or increase growth—the latter being by far the less painful option.
The growth option is becoming less feasible, Michael Peterson, CEO of fiscal think tank the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, told Fortune in an exclusive interview: “I think it requires government action because we’ve waited so long. We’ve added so many trillions, and the current deficit is so big at 6% that the level of growth you would need really exceeds what is feasible.
“Growth needs to be a part of it, but it’s sort of a vicious cycle. The longer we delay, the more debt we have, the slower growth is going to be. The more we get this under control, I think the greater optimism there is, interest rates go down, more growth comes from that. It’s sort of a virtuous or vicious cycle depending on your policy response.”
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Seventy-two veterans took a trip Saturday to our nation’s capital to visit memorials honoring their service in the armed forces.
This year marks the 12th trip to Washington, D.C. for Honor Flight Tallahassee.
Early Saturday morning, veterans and their guardians met to take a charter flight up to D.C.
Throughout the day, veterans were taken to the World War II memorial, as well as the Korean and Vietnam War memorials. The veterans also visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
More Tallahassee news:
The day ended with a wonderful welcome home celebration.
Our Jacob Murphey, Julia Miller, Taylor Viles, and Grace Temple accompanied the veterans, capturing moments from throughout the day.
The team will have live coverage from Washington, D.C. on Monday to share more from the day’s events.
We will continue to have coverage throughout the month of May, leading up to our Honor Flight special on Memorial Day.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here. Please include the article’s headline in your message.
Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here to get started.
Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.
4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
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