Politics

Early Vote Count Passes 2016 Total With 11 Days Until The Election

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Over 50 million Americans have voted early with 11 days remaining until Election Day, far surpassing the 47 million early ballots cast in 2016.

While nearly every state has begun early voting, Texas, California and Florida lead the way, with 6.3 million, 5.8 million and 4.2 million ballots cast in each state, according to the U.S. Elections Project.

Early ballots have also overwhelmingly come from Democratic voters who have said that they are much more likely to vote early either by mail or in person than Republican voters, the data shows. Of the 19 states that report party registration data, over 50% of ballots have come from registered Democrats, while 26.6% have come from registered Republicans, according to the U.S. Elections Project data.

The record vote totals reflect a remarkably energized electorate which is expected to shatter overall turnout records, forecasters say.

Might take the over on 154 million (narrowly). https://t.co/gbXvE4uNUD

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) October 22, 2020

Of the over 50 million ballots cast, at least 23 million have come from the battleground states that are likely to decide the election, the data shows. In Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, three competitive states that also feature four tossup Senate races, the early vote totals amount to 44%, 56% and 57% of each state’s entire 2016 vote count, according to the project.

In states where ballots can be matched to an individual’s voter file, approximately 20% of the ballots cast came from someone who did not cast a ballot in their state four years ago, according to The Washington Post.