60 million Americans voted before the election, and the battle rages on

More than 60 million voters voted early in the 2024 American elections, an exceptional participation which fuels the hopes of victory of the two competing camps, despite the difficulty of analyzing these indicators.

This number represents more than a third of the total voters who participated in the 2020 elections, whether on election day or in advance.

Five days before the elections, Democrats and Republicans continue to call on voters to go to the polls to vote as soon as possible, in light of opinion polls indicating a strong convergence of the chances of the two candidates in the presidential election, said Republican Donald Trump. and Democrat Kamala Harris.

The number of voters voting early this year – whether in person or by mail – exceeded the numbers recorded in the 2012 and 2016 elections.

But that number did not outpace the 2020 election that took place in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, when health concerns and precautionary measures prompted many Americans to vote early, and that the number of people who voted before election day reached more than 100 million.

Leaders vote early

In the Democratic camp, President Joe Biden, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and former President Barack Obama announced they had chosen to vote before Election Day and urged voters to follow their lead.

For his part, Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump – during a campaign rally Wednesday evening – welcomed the “historic rate of early voting” and the growing Republican participation.

In Georgia, more than 3 million voters cast ballots, or 45% of the state’s total registered voters, a record number according to Brad Raffensperger, a senior Republican.

This is the case in several other swing states, those states crucial to achieving ultimate victory, such as North Carolina.

Wisconsin voter Brad Haynes said it was “an important election for a democracy” and he waited in line to vote on the day early voting opened in the state.

“I wanted to go vote and show everyone that we had to do the same,” adds this 73-year-old retired police officer.

Republicans change the equation

Democrats often tend to vote earlier than Republicans, and this gap became clearer in the 2020 election in light of the pandemic, as approximately 60% of the votes Joe Biden received came from mail-in and mail-in voting. correspondence, compared to around 30% for Republicans. Donald Trump, according to Pew Center data.

But things could be different this time around, as Republicans indicate more of their supporters are voting early, polls show.

It is currently estimated that 39% of Democrats participate in early voting, compared to 36% of Republicans.

However, political commentators and analysts warn against the rush to analyze early voting indicators and calculate them in favor of one of the candidates, in light of a very close electoral race.