Early Voting Doubles in 2020

According to a project collecting early voting data since 2008, the number of ballots cast early in person or through mail-in has doubled in the 2020 presidential election compared with 2016 numbers.

As of the early morning of November 2, 94 million people have already voted in the United States. With one day of early voting still ahead, more than 100 million people could end up voting early in the 2020 election.

That number would be the equivalent of three quarters of all ballots counted in the last presidential election in 2016. It remains to be seen if the coronavirus pandemic has merely shifted a large part of votes to mail-in and early voting. Yet, there is also a chance for voter turnout to increase this year.

The chart shows early votes recorded as of election day. Due to reporting delays and many states accepting mail-in ballots until several days after the election, the figures do not represent the final total of early votes cast.