How many Americans have voted so far heading into the 2024 election?

EElection Day is Tuesday, but early voting has already taken place in many states. All but three states (47 total) and the District of Columbia offer early voting. Particularly in swing states, early voting has been a priority for both parties.

Early voting can be done either by voting in person or by voting by mail or absentee ballot. Eight states and Washington DC allow elections to be conducted exclusively by mail. There is a search engine on the government website that allows you to search for your local election office and research what early voting options are available to you.

More than 4 million voters cast early ballots in the key state of Georgia, which went blue in 2020 and helped President Joe Biden defeat the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. Despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, the key swing state of North Carolina set a new first-day voting record with over 350,000 votes, as did South Carolina, where more than 125,000 votes were cast. Although not all states report the age of early voters when that data is available, we can see that so far the 65+ age group has cast the most early voters.

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The percentage of Republicans voting early is higher than in 2020, perhaps because Republican Party leaders focused more on the practice than in previous elections.

Trump discouraged voters from using mail-in and early voting in 2020. In fact, his attacks on mail-in voting and false accusations of widespread voter fraud capitalized on fear and uncertainty about holding a presidential election amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, over 100 million people voted at the beginning of 2020.

However, he flipped the script in this election. Although he still said this year that he had “mixed feelings” about early voting, Trump's campaign pushed in September and October to push Republicans for early voting and mail-in voting. In fact, Trump said on Fox News Radio on October 23 that he planned to vote early himself.

Biden's victory in 2020 was supported by much higher rates of early voting and absentee voting than among Republican voters. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has also encouraged her supporters to vote early in this election.

Read more: Harris calls on Detroit to “break some records” as early voting begins in critical Michigan

On October 19, in Detroit, as early voting began in the city, Harris held a rally with musician Lizzo and urged voters to “break records” and stressed that early voting was the best way to prevent Trump's return to the Oval Office to prevent.

Rachael Cobb, an associate professor of political science and law at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, tells TIME that these early voting numbers are undoubtedly higher than in previous years, but it is “hard” to compare them to the 2020 general election , when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing.

“In recent years, more and more states have allowed early voting, and it is not a new reform, but rather one that has become more prevalent since 2010,” Cobb said. “And since then we’ve only had a handful of presidential elections.”

Still, Cobb points out that early voting practices have real benefits.

During the election campaign, they bring more and more voters to the polls and have more data about which demographic votes to focus on in the run-up to election day.

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

“For voters, they can see that everything is being handled through their own eyes,” Cobb said. She also emphasizes how convenient early voting is, as it often allows people to vote at centers near their work or home without disrupting their schedules too much.

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

More than 78 million votes have been cast so far, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, which tracks early voting.