Over 70 Million Votes Cast So Far in Early Voting

As of October 27, one week before the election, over 70 million early votes have been counted and that number continues to grow as the votes continue coming in. On Tuesday, the United States Elections Project reported that the total number of early votes cast reached 70,032,485. The total number of votes cast in the 2016 election was 138,846,571. This means that early votes have amounted to over half of the total number of votes from the previous election. 

Currently, it seems the Democrats have a substantial lead over the Republicans in early mail-in votes while the GOP may hold a small lead against the Democrats in early in-person voting. Though they apparently trail in the number of mail-in votes, in-person votes could still swing the election back in the GOP’s favor. 

Another thing to consider is that a good portion of the mail-in votes cast so far could be from voters who normally vote in-person but have decided not to this year due to concerns over COVID-19. Despite this, some speculate that the high amount of early voting could lead to a greater voter turn out than the 2016 election. 

The early votes already cast could be misleading as well. Early voting is not a uniform process across the United States. The process for early voting can be harder than some states then others. While some states like Maryland and Pennsylvania allow for voting by mail until November 2, six other states don’t allow for early votes at all. 

Even with the varying requirements regarding early voting, analysts believe that young voter turn out will occur in record breaking numbers. In a poll conducted by Harvard University on Monday, October 26, Joe Biden has a 63 to 25 advantage over Trump in young voter turnout. That is, those voters in 18-29 age group. 

“Young voters will decide this election,” Texas Democratic Party Communications Director Abhi Rahman said, “We couldn’t be more thrilled with the records being broken every single day from young voters making their voices heard.”

In Maryland, there is still time to cast early votes. Whether by mail-in voting or by early in-person voting, there’s more time than usual to let your vote be counted. Or to those uninterested in early voting, in-person voting will still be held on November 3. Every vote counts so be sure to let yours be heard.