Early Voting 2020 Shatters Record as Election Day Draws Near

WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com – More than 10 million votes have been cast as early voting 2020 is well underway for the upcoming Election Day.

Americans have harnessed the benefits of early voting this year amid a stubborn novel coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 215,000 in the US alone.

This year’s early ballots have outpaced the early vote in 2016 and suggesting a large turnout, according to data compiled by the US Elections Project.

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The novel Covid-19 virus has led to a surge in early voting and mail balloting particularly among Democrats this Election Day.

Republican President Donald Trump has sowed confusion and distrust of mail balloting, making repeated, unfounded allegations of widespread fraud ahead of his contest with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

As of Monday night, nearly 10.4 million Americans have cast a vote in states that report early voting data, according to the election information resource at the University of Florida.

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By way of comparison, as of October 16, 2016, some 1.4 million Americans had cast an early vote.

The number of ballots cast in five states — Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin — already exceeds 20 percent of total 2016 turnout, the Elections Project said.

(Writers: Trevor Hunnicutt,  Jarrett Renshaw | Editors: Himani Sarkar, Robert Birsel)

Source: https://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-early-voting/more-than-10-million-ballots-already-cast-in-u-s-presidential-election-study-idUSKBN26Y0BY