High participation figures in early voting for the elections in the U.S.

Early voting in the United States has recorded high participation figures in some states of the country, where nearly 14 million citizens have cast their votes by mail or in person.

This represents approximately 7% of the electoral roll for the elections that will be held on November 5, where voters will decide between the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, and his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. It is also a low percentage compared to previous elections, when by this time 35 million voters had made their decision.

Currently, eight states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, and counties in Florida, have opened their polling places early.

In some of them, the figures point to a record in mail-in voting, including North Carolina and Georgia.

Georgia, a key state that began voting last week, has seen notable participation, with over 1,425,000 voters, equivalent to 20% of its electorate. North Carolina has also surpassed a million votes, with 16% of the electorate participating.

The states considered critical for this election, such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, and Wisconsin, are also surpassing the national average in early voting.

In Michigan, more than 1,018,000 people have voted (13%), while in Pennsylvania the figure exceeds 787,000 (10%).

The majority of early voters are Democrats, with 4.5 million registered voters in this party, compared to 3.1 million Republicans.

According to polls, former President Donald Trump leads in Florida with a 7.8% advantage over Vice President Kamala Harris, suggesting a likely Republican victory in this state, which has one million more registered voters than Democrats.

However, the total number is quite lower than it was four years ago: on October 21, 2020, more than 35 million people (the majority Democrats) had already cast their votes, which set an all-time record for early voting in the country.

In some states like Florida, North Carolina, or Pennsylvania, which tend to reveal data about the political preferences of their voters, more Democrats than Republicans had exercised their right in previous elections.

By then, Donald Trump's attacks against this modality were very strong and led to his early allegations of fraud.

Mail-in voting is not managed the same way everywhere. In states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, it is prohibited to begin counting in advance, until the day of the election itself, which could lead to a delay in ballot counting.