In the 2024 election, voter turnout is showing some striking trends with more than 50 million Americans already casting ballots by Oct. 29, according to the University of Florida Election Lab. Roughly 27 million of these votes were cast in person, while over 24 million voters chose the mail-in option. This early turnout is notable, making up about one-third of the total voters who participated in 2020, signaling another high-participation election on the horizon. With early voting periods just beginning in critical states like Florida, Michigan, and New York, many Americans have already had the opportunity to vote ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5. Meanwhile, Oklahoma and Kentucky are starting their early voting schedules soon, while Louisiana, Maine, Tennessee, and Maryland are winding theirs down. Three states—Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire—opt out of in-person early voting entirely.
Interestingly, this cycle has seen Republicans embracing early in-person voting more than in recent elections. Historically, Democrats dominated early voting, but recent numbers indicate a shift, particularly in battleground states. According to data from 26 states that register voters by party, only 14 are showing a higher early turnout for Democrats. Republicans appear to be taking to heart the party leaders’ calls to vote early and in greater numbers, especially in swing states like Arizona and Georgia, where high early turnout could sway the tight race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
The battleground states are proving critical. In Arizona, early voting began on Oct. 8, and by Oct. 27, 1.4 million ballots had been submitted, with Republicans taking a significant lead over Democrats. Nonpartisan voters, a key demographic in Arizona, also contributed with over 326,000 ballots, which could have a substantial impact in a state where Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020 by just 13,000 votes. In Georgia, early voting numbers are shattering records, with over 3 million ballots cast by Oct. 28, mostly through in-person voting. Early turnout in Georgia has already surpassed that of 2020, indicating that voters are highly motivated to participate in this cycle.
Republicans’ adoption of early in-person voting shows a shift in strategy compared to past elections, where mail-in voting was the primary method for early voting. In 2020, nearly 60 percent of Democrats and 32 percent of Republicans voted by mail, but this gap is shrinking. The reversal reflects a new Republican approach to securing votes before Election Day, especially in northern states that are hotly contested.
With just days remaining until the election, both parties are focusing on rallying their bases. Whether the early turnout leads to a final advantage for one party or the other remains to be seen, but it’s clear that early voting is playing an increasingly significant role in shaping this election’s outcome.
