Early Voting Numbers in the 2024 Presidential Election

Connecticut Offers First-Ever Early Voting Opportunity For Presidential Election

With the 2024 presidential election approaching, early voting is underway in most states. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia offer early voting options. In swing states, particularly, both parties have prioritized early voting, either through in-person voting or mail-in ballots.

Over 2.1 million voters have cast early ballots in Georgia, a key swing state that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. Despite Hurricane Helene, North Carolina, another swing state, has seen over 350,000 early votes, while has seen more than 125,000 votes cast.

More Democrats have cast early votes than Republicans in 2024. However, the percentage of Republican early voters is higher than in 2020, possibly due to increased focus on early voting by Republican leaders.

Trump discouraged voters from voting early in 2020. His attacks on mail-in voting and false allegations of voter fraud capitalized on fears and uncertainty about holding a presidential election during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Election 2024 Trump

However, he has shifted his approach in this election. While he still expressed reservations about early voting, the Trump campaign has spent September and October encouraging Republicans to vote early and by mail. In fact, Trump said on October 23 that he plans to vote early himself.

Biden’s victory in 2020 was aided by higher rates of early voting and mail-in voting among Democratic voters. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has also been encouraging supporters to vote early in this election.

On October 19 in Detroit, as early voting began, Harris hosted a rally with musician Lizzo, and encouraged voters to vote early, emphasizing that early votes are the best way to prevent Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

Rachael Cobb, associate professor of political science and legal studies at Suffolk University, tells TIME that the early voting numbers are undoubtedly higher than in previous years, but it’s “hard” to compare to the 2020 general election, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.

“More states have enabled early voting in recent years, and it’s not a new reform but it’s taken hold more so since 2010,” Cobb says. “And, we’ve only had a handful of presidential elections since then.”

Still, Cobb points out that early voting practices offer real advantages.

For campaigns, they can get more voters to the polls and gather more data on which populations they need to target leading up to election day.

For voters, in-person early voting provides additional support from poll workers, especially for those who need translations or assistance.

“For voters, they can see that everything is handled with their own eyes,” Cobb says. She also emphasizes the convenience of early voting, often allowing people to vote at centers near their work or home, without significant disruption to their schedules.

How many votes have been cast so far in the 2024 presidential election?

According to the , which tracks early votes, over 28 million votes have been cast so far. 28,867,246, to be exact.