Voters line up to cast their ballots at the Stamford Government Center on the first day of early voting on Oct. 21, 2024, in Stamford, Connecticut. Credit – John Moore—Getty Images
With the 2024 presidential election fast approaching, early voting is up and running for many. All but three U.S. states (47 in total) and the District of Columbia offer early voting options. In swing states especially, early voting has been a priority for both parties.
Early voting can be done either through in-person voting, or through mail-in or absentee ballots. Eight states and Washington D.C. allow for elections to be conducted entirely by mail. The government’s website hosts a search engine which allows you to look up your local election office and research what early voting options are available to you.
More than 2.3 million voters have cast early votes in the key state of Georgia, which flipped blue in 2020 and helped President Joe Biden beat the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump. Despite the devastation of Hurricane Helene, key swing state North Carolina set a new record for first day voting, marking over 350,000 votes, as did South Carolina, which saw more than 125,000 votes cast. Though not all states report the ages of early voters, where that data is available, we can see that so far, it’s the over 65 age group that has cast the most early votes.
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The percentage of Republicans casting early votes is higher than in 2020, perhaps a result of leaders in the Republican party focusing more on the practice than in previous elections.
Trump discouraged voters from utilizing mail-in voting and early voting in 2020. In fact, his attacks on mail-in voting and false allegations of widespread voter fraud capitalized on fear and uncertainty about holding a presidential election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, over 100 million people voted early in 2020.