
(DailyEmailNews.com) – Marking a historic moment, early voting has surged to never-before-seen levels: 46 million Americans casting their ballots ahead of Election Day.
The massive volume of early votes amounts to more than a quarter of the expected electorate, which is staggering.
Over 20 million of these ballots were mailed in, with the remainder split between mail-in and in-person voting.
Early voter turnout has set new records in swing states like North Carolina and Georgia. On the first day of early voting, 353,166 ballots were accepted in North Carolina, while about 310,000 ballots were cast in Georgia.
Surprisingly, even Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has urged supporters to vote early despite his previous concerns about mail-in voting. This shift in strategy acknowledges the political reality of early voting.
However, the surge in early voting has put immense strain on local election infrastructure.
Long lines at polling places and overwhelming numbers of mail-in ballots create chaos that bad actors could exploit.
Moreover, the varied laws across states regarding when ballots can be counted only add to the confusion and potential for disputes.
Encouragingly, Republicans are increasingly taking part in early voting for the 2024 election. In states with party registration, 36% of early voters are Republicans, up from 30% in 2020.
“We’ve really tried from the (Republican National Committee) and the (Donald) Trump campaign to send the message out there that we want you to vote early,” said RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
Recognizing the importance of early votes, Republican participation has grown in states such as Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.
As Republicans see the value in early ballots, efforts to rally their base while adopting these changing methods respond to the need for electoral flexibility and security.
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