Record early voting in US elections surpasses 80 million

Voters wait in a long line of cars during early voting at the Oklahoma Board of Elections in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA on March 29, 2020. REUTERS / Nick Oxford

WASHINGTON – More than 80 million Americans have cast their votes in the U.S. presidential election, according to a count Thursday by the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida, setting the stage for the highest turnout rate in more of a century.

The record pace, more than 58% of the total turnout in 2016, reflects intense interest in the vote, in which incumbent Donald Trump, a Republican, faces Democratic candidate Joe Biden, a former vice president.

Large numbers of people have voted by mail or at the first polling places in person amid concerns that the coronavirus could spread in busy Election Day polling places.

Trump follows Biden in national opinion polls as a majority of voters say they disapprove of the Trump administration’s handling of COVID-19, which has killed more than 227,000 people in the United States, and the numbers. of cases once again break daily records as Election Day approaches Tuesday.

Democrats have a significant advantage in early voting because of their acceptance of vote-by-mail, which Republicans have historically cast in large numbers but avoided amid repeated and unfounded attacks from Trump, who says the system is prone. to widespread fraud.

Experts have predicted that turnout will easily exceed the 138 million who voted in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Only 47 million votes came before Election Day in 2016.

In 20 states that report party registration data, 18.2 million registered Democrats have already voted, compared with 11.5 million Republicans and 8.8 million with no party affiliation. The data does not show by whom the votes were cast.

Read next

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.

For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.