Nearly 50 Million Americans Have Already Cast Ballots

[Denise]

Nearly 47.5 million Americans have already voted in the 2024 election with 24.24 million doing so in-person and more than 23.38 million casting ballots through the mail, according to 9 p.m. (EDT) Oct. 28 tabulations by the University of Florida Election Lab.
That’s nearly a third of the 158.4 million Americans who voted in the 2020 election.

With early voting kicking off over the weekend in Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Michigan—the first time the battleground state has offered in-person voting—Americans in 45 states can now vote in-person before Election Day on Nov. 5.

On Oct. 30, Oklahomans can cast ballots early for four days, and on Oct. 31, Kentucky’s three-day early in-person period begins.

As those states start early voting periods, Louisiana closes its on Oct. 29 while Maine, Tennessee, and Maryland shut it down on Oct. 31. Three states—Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire—do not offer in-person early voting.

As has been the trend since the first ballots were cast in late September, Republicans are showing up in greater numbers to vote in person before Election Day compared to previous election cycles, while Democrats are casting the most mail-in votes, but not in the numbers they did so in 2020.


One week before Nov. 5 Election Day, Republicans continue to turn out in higher numbers than in past cycles with early voting under way in 45 states.
Early turnout over recent elections cycles have been higher among Democrats than Republicans but, of the 26 of 30 states that register voters by party affiliation that Election Lab has data for, only 14 are reporting more early votes from registered Democrats than registered Republicans, it reported on Oct. 28.

In 2020, about 60 percent of Democrats and 32 percent of Republicans who voted did so by mail, according to an M.I.T. Election Data and Science Lab study.
That gap may not be as wide in 2024—if current trends continue—with Republicans responding to party leaders’ calls to vote early, either in person or by mail, a reversal of what unfolded in 2020, especially in northern states.

The trend is especially evident in the seven battleground states pundits say will determine the outcome between former President Donald Trump and Democrat nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on Nov. 5.

In Arizona, where early voting began Oct. 8, as of Oct. 27, more than 1.4 million had mailed in or dropped off ballots at the county elections office, with Republicans casting 588,782 and Democrats 485,784 of those votes, according to data posted by the Arizona Party Voter File and Arizona County Recorders.
More than 326,000 of those 1.4 million early votes were cast by nonpartisans, a key constituency in a state President Joe Biden won by less than 13,000 votes in 2020, only the second Democrat to win Arizona since 1948.

Trump took Arizona and its 11 electoral votes in 2020 by 3.5 percentage points.

In Georgia, where a record 328,000 people voted on the first day of early voting on Oct. 15, more than 3 million—approximately 42 percent of the state’s 7.22 million voters—had already cast their 2024 ballots as of Oct. 28, according to the state’s Secretary of State’s Election Data Hub, with nearly 2.72 million doing so in person

Voters don’t register by political affiliation in Georgia, but early turnouts were higher thus far in 2024 than they were in 2020 in a state Biden won by 0.23 percent, less than 11,780 votes.

North Carolina: 36 Percent Already Voted

In North Carolina, which also set a first-day early voting record with 353,000 ballots cast on Oct. 17, more than 2.82 million—36 percent of the state’s 7.81 million registered voters—had already cast ballots by Oct. 27, according to the North Carolina State Election Board.
Republicans cast 961,706, or 33.3 percent, of those early in-person North Carolina votes, about 16,200 more than the 937,910 cast by Democrats, Election Lab reported, with 920,386 nonpartisans also voting early. There was no available breakdown of the nearly 155,000 returned mail-in ballots.

Trump won the Tar Heel State in 2016 by 3.67 percent and by 1.3 percent in 2020. It was the only state the former president won with less than 50 percent of the vote.

In Pennsylvania, registered Democrats had cast 823,421 or 58 percent, of the more than 1.414 million mail-in ballots returned, according Election Lab.
Republicans had mailed in or delivered nearly 444,000 votes, nearly 31.5 percent, and nonpartisans 147,483 ballots, 10.4 percent. That 30-plus percent turnout by Republicans is a significant boost over the 23 percent who voted in early 2020 in the Keystone State, which Biden won by 1.17 percent after Trump won in 2016 by 0.72 percentage points.

As noted by Michael Poser at Decision Desk HQ in a series of Oct. 28 X posts, Republicans have out-gained Democrats in voter registrations 39,507 to 19,774 between Oct. 20-27.
With Oct. 29 as the last day for registered voters to request a ballot to cast an early vote in Pennsylvania, the “return rate” of requested takes on added significance from Oct. 30 on, and it appears the GOP is on track to easily eclipse past early voting performances,

Democrats have a 281,081 registration advantage, “which will likely drop slightly before election day as counties complete their data entry,” he writes, noting, “Republicans have net 92,500 registrations over the last four months.”
In Michigan, which does not register voters by party affiliation, during its first-ever in-person early voting period, which began Oct. 26, the state’s Election Dashboard reported late Oct. 28 that more than 1.5 million of 2.345 million who requested ballots had returned them.
More than 145,000 people voted on Oct. 26 and more than 260,000 had done so by the end of the week, the state reported. Biden won the state by 2.6 percent, about 155,000 votes.


More than 446,140 of 1 million requested mail-in ballots had been returned and 412,022 had cast ballots in person. Biden won the state by 0.63 percentage points, nearly 21,000 votes, in 2020.

According to Nevada Secretary of State numbers posted Oct. 28 by Election Lab, more than 32,000 more Republicans than Democrats had already voted—255,805, 39.7 percent, to 223,729, 34.7 percent, with 164,519 nonpartisans also voting in person early.
That advantage is fueled by a significant lead in early in-person voting, which began Oct. 19. According to Election Lab, 149,475 GOP voters, or 49.7 percent of Nevada’s 300,940 in-person early tally, had cast their ballots compared to 82,055 Democrats (27.3 percent) and 69,410 nonpartisans (23 percent).
Democrats had a 141,674 to 106,330 lead in mail-in ballots with 232,156 of 1.975 million—less than 17.5 percent—requested returned. More than 95,000 nonpartisans had returned ballots.

All Nevada voters get automatically receive ballots in the mail unless they opt out and the state offers same-day registration on Election Day. Biden won Nevada by 2.4 percentage points, less than 34,000 votes, in 2020.

Epoch Times

[Johnna]

I already cast ballot. They can't mess with it on election day if it is in and they already have it.

[Denise]

We voted Friday.

[MarieT]

hope they dont mess with it again

apparently in last election trump was well ahead and couldnt lose because even if biden had won the few left voting, he couldnt get enough to topple the already far ahead trump

goes to show......no wonder trump was stating "foul play" ....rigged

[Denise]

Cheating has already been tried even to the point of burning mail drop boxes in case they have mail in ballets in them.

[Johnna]

I heard about those mail drop boxes. We just need to pray.

[Denise]

The good news is...

Suspect in Oregon, Washington Ballot Box Fires Likely an Experienced Metalworker: Officials
The suspect has a ‘wealth of experience in metal fabrication welding,’ officials say.
Friends Read Free

Suspect in Oregon, Washington Ballot Box Fires Likely an Experienced Metalworker: Officials
First responders extinguish the burning contents of a ballot box, after it was set on fire in a suspected arson incident in Vancouver, Wash., on Oct. 28, 2024

The man suspected of setting fires in Oregon and Washington state ballot drop boxes is a metalworker and might be planning more attacks, officials said Wednesday.

Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said that the man, who has not been identified, had a “wealth of experience in metal fabrication and welding” and fabrication before he set off incendiary devices in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington.

In a news conference, Benner added that Portland investigators “believe it is very possible the suspect intends to continue these targeted attacks across the area.”
The suspect is described as white, 30 to 40 years old, and balding or with very short hair, officials said. Police previously said surveillance video showed the man driving a black or dark-colored 2001 to 2004 Volvo S-60.

The vehicle did not have a front license plate, but it did have a rear plate with unknown letters or numbers.

Benner said law enforcement investigators believe the suspect is connected to three incidents in Portland and Vancouver this month.

About 475 ballots were damaged and retrieved from a burned drop box in Vancouver, an official said Tuesday. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said that only three ballots were damaged in Portland, adding that his office is planning to contact voters to get replacement ballots.

“The good news is the fire suppression devices inside the box extinguished any fire almost immediately,” Scott said earlier this week. "There were only three ballots that were in the box out of hundreds that had any damage whatsoever, and we were able to clearly read the voters’ names on those ballots, so we will be reaching out directly to those that were impacted.”
Investigators are trying to identify the person responsible and the motive for the suspected arson attacks, which destroyed or damaged hundreds of ballots at the drop box in Vancouver on Monday when the box’s fire suppression system didn’t work as intended.

Surveillance images captured a Volvo pulling up to a drop box in Portland just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, according to Benner. The early-morning fire was extinguished quickly thanks to the box’s suppression system and a nearby security guard, police said. Just three of the ballots inside were damaged.

Voters in Washington are encouraged to check the status of their ballots at www.votewa.gov to track their return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as “received,” voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department for a replacement, the secretary of state’s office said.
In Vancouver, the House race between Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) and Republican Joe Kent is anticipated to be close, according to the Cook Political report.

Gluesenkamp Perez, in a statement, said that she is requesting an overnight law enforcement presence at all drop boxes in Clark County, Washington, until the Nov. 5 election.
“Our right to vote needs to be protected under all circumstances. We can’t yield to intimidation, and we must continue to stand up against unpatriotic acts such as this one,” she said.

In a post on his social media account, Kent described the fires as a “cowardly act of terrorism” and said that voters should not “be deterred” from casting ballots in the election.
In recent years, ballot drop boxes have faced criticism from Republicans and have been the subject of a number of lawsuits. Around 12 states ban ballot drop boxes, including Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Missouri, West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Epoch Times