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More than 50 million Americans have voted in the presidential election, an early voting expert said, indicating a potential record turnout for a Nov.3 match between US President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden.
According to Michael McDonald of the University of Florida Elections Project, at least 50.95 million people had cast their votes in person or by mail 11 days before Election Day.
That’s about a third of the more than 150 million votes that McDonald and other experts predict could be cast this year. In the 2016 elections 137 million votes were cast.
The huge early voting total gives Republican Trump less leeway to change his mind before the vote is over.
Opinion polls show him behind Biden, a Democrat, both nationally and in various battlefield states who will decide who will sit in the White House on January 20, 2021.
Trump and Biden met for their second and final debate Thursday night.
Analysts credited Trump for a relatively subdued performance, but said it likely didn’t fundamentally change the dynamics of the race.
Trump, 74, will hold two rallies in the battlefield state of Florida, where opinion polls show a close race.
Biden, 77, will deliver a speech in his home state of Delaware about his plans to lead recovery from the pandemic.
Read the latest from the US elections
Trump has frequently attacked absentee voting as unreliable, and his campaign has fought efforts by states to expand a practice that analysts say is as safe as any other method.
Trump himself voted by mail in past elections, but plans to vote in person in Florida on Saturday, the White House said.
Vice President Mike Pence cast his early voting ballot in Indianapolis on Friday morning.
Democrats have cast roughly 5 million more votes than Republicans so far, though their margin has narrowed in recent days, according to TargetSmart, a Democratic analytics firm.
The pandemic has disrupted campaign traditions. Americans can find themselves waiting days or weeks to find out who won a selection. Officials count tens of millions of votes by mail.
Biden leads the race for cash
Joe Biden enters the final days of the race with more money than Trump.
The Democrat raised about $ 130 million (€ 110 million) during the October 1-24 period, roughly three times the roughly $ 44 million (€ 27 million) raised by Trump’s Republican campaign, according to disclosures released Thursday. before the Federal Electoral Commission.
In his debate, Biden renewed his frequent campaign attacks on Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States and cost millions of jobs.
“Anyone who is responsible for so many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America,” Biden said.
Biden said Trump was too slow to warn the public about the severity of the pandemic and too quick to dismiss its threat, and had not developed a recovery plan.
Trump defended his handling of the health crisis, stating that the worst was over.
Biden’s Covid-19 speech in Delaware on Friday follows his promise to improve access to testing and listen to advice from health officials and scientists, with whom Trump often fights.
Joe Biden has criticized Donald Trump for returning to packed public rallies, which generally feature little social distancing and few people in protective masks.
Trump, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 in early October and spent three nights in the hospital, mocks Biden for his caution.
Focus on Florida
Florida, Trump’s next campaign stop, is a must-win for the president and among the states likely to decide the election.
Both candidates have paid attention to the state, where a Reuters / Ipsos poll this week found Biden was moving toward a slight lead after being in a statistical tie a week earlier.
Trump will begin his visit to Florida in Villages, a sprawling retirement center in central Florida that is a hotbed of political activity and a regular stop for Republican candidates.
Polls have shown that Trump, who won over 65 voters by 17% in 2016, is on par or behind Biden with high-ranking voters this year in the state, home to many retirees, a sign of potential problems for the government. President.
In the evening, Trump will hold a rally at the Pensacola Airport, in Northwest Florida, in the Northwest Panhandle, to urge supporters to vote early.
Trump will spend the night in Florida before casting his vote in West Palm Beach.
Former President Barack Obama, with whom Biden served as vice president for eight years, will campaign in Florida on Saturday, Biden’s campaign said. Obama made his debut in Biden’s election campaign in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
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