More than 400,000 Americans have already cast their ballots for the 2024 election, according to data released by the University of Florida’s Election Lab as of September 29.
With Election Day scheduled for November 5, this early turnout suggests high voter engagement in the weeks leading up to the general election.
The Election Lab’s data revealed that 426,298 people have voted so far. Of that total, 213,620 people voted early in person, while 212,708 returned mail-in ballots.
A significant number of mail-in ballots—over 45 million—have been requested across the country as of late September.
Currently, states reporting early or mail-in votes include Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, and Connecticut.
However, the university points out that most states are still only providing data on mail ballot requests, meaning the numbers will likely change as more ballots are returned.
The data from the states that track party registration shows a clear partisan split in early voting.
About 64 percent of those who have voted early or returned mail-in ballots are registered Democrats, while only 19.5 percent are registered Republicans. Around 16.6 percent of early voters are unaffiliated or belong to another party.
Early voters also skew older. Thirty-seven percent of early voters in states reporting age data are over 65, while 34.8 percent are between the ages of 41 and 64.
Only 19.7 percent of early voters are aged 26 to 40, and just 8.5 percent are between 18 and 25.
The vast majority of early voters in states that report racial data—60.4 percent—are non-Hispanic white people. Only 5.7 percent are black, 2.8 percent are Hispanic, 2.9 percent are Asian, and a mere 0.2 percent are Native American. Nearly 30 percent of early voters fall under the “other/multiple/unknown” category.
Gender data also shows a nearly even split: 48.1 percent of early voters are male, 45 percent are female, and 6.9 percent fall into an “unknown” category.
Despite the rising popularity of mail-in voting since the COVID-19 pandemic, some officials have raised concerns about potential issues with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
The National Association of State Election Directors and the National Association of Secretaries of State recently flagged problems such as properly addressed election mail being returned to sender and ballots postmarked on time but arriving days late.
These problems could result in voters being marked inactive or having their votes not counted.
USPS head Louis DeJoy responded by assuring that the Postal Service is prepared for the 2024 election.
In a letter sent on September 13, DeJoy acknowledged address quality as the most common reason for returned mail, but he emphasized that USPS is actively working to resolve these issues.
Recent changes to election laws and procedures in Georgia and Arizona could also impact the speed of ballot counting.
Georgia’s State Election Board passed a rule earlier this month requiring a hand count of ballots at each polling place by three separate poll workers on Election Day until all counts match.
A similar law in Arizona requires counties to hand count ballot envelopes dropped off at polling centers before the ballots are tabulated.
Meanwhile, a legal battle in Pennsylvania could decide whether counties must count provisional ballots cast by voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected due to minor mistakes, such as not placing the ballot inside an inner secrecy envelope.
Republicans argue that state law does not permit a provisional ballot to be cast in place of a rejected mail-in ballot.
Despite the complications, early voter interest remains strong. A recent NBC News poll found that 51 percent of registered voters plan to vote early this fall, either by mail or in person.
With Election Day still more than a month away, these early numbers suggest that Americans remain highly engaged and eager to make their voices heard in the 2024 election.