The state of early voting: Which party is ahead, which states have the highest numbers, and more

Early voting is in full swing, although how it’s playing out depends where you are in the country. Some states allow citizens to cast their ballots from 46 days before the election, and a few don’t give the option at all until Election Day.

In most states, voters can vote early in-person, or by sending a mail-in ballot. Only Alabama and New Hampshire offer no form of early voting.

Well over 47 million early votes — 47,555,000 at least — have already been cast for the presidential election, with one week to go until the ballots close.

This makes up nearly a third of all votes cast in the 2020 election, which amounted to 158 million votes in total.

Though early votes are around 22 percent lower than the same time in 2020, it is difficult to compare the two periods, thanks to irregularly high levels of absentee voting in the last election due to the Covid pandemic.

Texas and Florida top the list for the highest number of votes already cast, with over 5 million each.

Texas does not report party registration data. In Florida, the number of registered Republicans showing up to vote early (2.3 million) has outpaced Democrats (1.7 million).

In California, the reverse is true, with 1.9 million votes from registered Democrats and 1.2 million from Republicans.

Donald Trump has himself critiqued the practice of early voting as part of his rhetoric on the 2020 election being stolen — yet this year, many Republicans are committing early.

Georgia and North Carolina have also been hotspots for early voting this year, with around 3 million votes cast in each state. This may come as no surprise since votes in both states are pivotal to the election, and sit on a knife’s edge according to the polls.

Overall, in the 26 states that report party registration, there have been marginally more registered Democrats voting early via in-person and mail-in ballots. At least 9.1 million Democrats have cast their votes, compared to 8.4 million Republicans, and 5.6 million people without a party affiliation.

Though Democrats are “ahead”, the party usually enjoys an advantage in the early polls, so the picture is less clear than it appears.

In addition, an individual’s party registration does not provide a definite picture of how they will vote, though it is largely a good indication.

For example, previous polls have suggested anywhere from 4-10 percent of Republicans may be voting Harris, while 5 percent of registered Democrats in 2020 said they voted for Trump.

Just nine and seven states respectively have reported early votes by age and gender so far.

Unsurprisingly, older generations are the most likely to vote early, whether that be in person or by mail. Over 85 percent of votes cast so far are from citizens in the 40+ age group. The 18-25 age group makes up just 7 percent of early votes.

Women are also more inclined to commit their vote early, making up 55 percent of votes in these states.