Early voting sees massive turnout, 47% of 2020 total electorate

In key battleground states, early voting participation has been significant. Georgia has reported 4 million ballots cast, marking 80 percent of the total number of voters it saw in 2020. Both Arizona and North Carolina have experienced early voting rates of about 50 percent of eligible voters, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The massive turnout for early voting shows that Americans have shifted how they engage with elections, a trend that gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic and has persisted.

“Election Day is just the end of voting now,” noted Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, per the Washington Post. “We have many election days and it’s just the final day on which ballots can be cast.”

Burden also highlighted that while early voting has changed the method and timing of voting, it has not necessarily increased overall voter participation. “I don’t think it’s generating many new voters,” he said. “The research suggests these are mostly people changing their method and timing of voting, but they are not people who otherwise would sit home.”

While nationwide voter turnout has not yet reached 2020 levels, it surpasses that of prior election years like 2016. The Republican Party, traditionally less focused on early voting, has ramped up efforts to encourage their supporters to vote early in 2024.

The Washington Post also reported that voters appreciate the flexibility early voting provides, helping them avoid potential obstacles such as long lines, poor weather, busy work schedules, or unexpected issues that might prevent them from voting on Election Day. The adoption of early voting has grown as state laws have evolved. In the 1990s, 90 percent of voters cast ballots on Election Day. Today, tens of millions vote in person or by mail weeks ahead of time.

“Citizens love early voting, whether it’s by mail or in-person absentee voting, and we’ve seen an increase every presidential election,” explained Claire Woodall, former elections director for Milwaukee, to The Washington Post.

In Pennsylvania, a critical swing state that may decide this election, voters have the option to submit mail ballots in person before Election Day. To date, 1.7 million ballots have been cast, with Democrats making up 56 percent of early voters, Republicans 33 percent, and the remaining 11 percent comprising unaffiliated or third-party voters.