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WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – More than 70 million Americans have voted in the U.S. presidential election, more than half of the total turnout in the 2016 election with a week to go by Election Day, according to a tally by the Tuesday (October 27) US Elections Project.
The recount, which shows a record pace that could lead to the largest voter turnout in percentage terms in more than a century, is the latest sign of intense interest in the race between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
It also highlights the desire of voters to reduce their risk of exposure to Covid-19 as the pandemic strengthens in the winter.
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.
In general, Democrats have a two-to-one advantage in early voting numbers.
However, Republicans in recent weeks have narrowed the gap in early voting in person, the data shows.
The high level of early voting has led University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, who runs the U.S. Elections Project, to predict a record turnout of about 150 million, representing 65 percent of those eligible to vote, the highest rate since 1908.
American voters have already cast far more early votes during this presidential campaign than they did in all of 2016, when they passed the 47 million mark earlier this month, data shows.
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