Over 40 million ballots cast ahead of Election Day, tracker says

Early voting in-person began Monday in the nation’s capital with just over a week left before Election Day. More than 43 million Americans had already voted in person or by mail-in ballot on Monday and states across the country set early voting records this month, according to an early vote tracker project coordinated by University of Florida Professor Michael McDonald. Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire are the only states that do not offer some form of early in-person voting.

What areas have seen increases in early voting? Early voting in the battleground state of Wisconsin increased by nearly 40 percent compared to 2020, state election officials said Friday. In Maryland, close to half a million people cast ballots during the first four days of early voting. Turnout on the first day of early voting surpassed all early voting during the 2024 primary election, Maryland Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis wrote on social media. New York City also set a record with over a quarter of a million ballots cast during the first two days of early voting over the weekend. In Alaska, more than 46,000 people cast their ballots during the first week of early voting, surpassing the numbers recorded in 2022 and 2020.

What do the national statistics say about early voting? In states that report party registration data, about 40 percent of the early voters so far are registered Democrats, according to data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab. Just over 36 percent are registered Republicans and about 24 percent are not registered with any party. Meanwhile, the majority of early voters are over the age of 41 and just over half are women. 

Dig deeper: Read our staff report from WORLD Magazine about important ballot measures and contests to watch on election night.