The University of Florida’s Elections Project reported that over 14 million U.S. citizens have voted so far as the Nov. 3 election day is approaching.
This figure, which includes absentee and in-person early voting, represents about 10 percent of the total 2016 turnout.
In Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Virginia, turnout has reached about 25 percent of the last presidential election’s levels.
Georgia saw over 40 percent increase in voter turnout from 2016, with 128,590 votes cast on Monday, the first day of early voting. Texas and Kentucky also saw heavy turnout on Tuesday.
“There are three driving factors here. One is simply that states have relaxed their laws. Maybe it was through changes that were already in place or as an emergency for the pandemic. And, in the latter case, we’ve seen many people requesting mail ballots and voting in-person early,” University of Florida professor Michael McDonald said.
