Despite objections from some Republicans, early voting continues to be popular.
Americans have cast more ballots ahead of Election Day than they did during early voting before the last midterm election, continuing a trend of increasingly relying on early voting despite vocal objections from some Republicans.
As of Saturday, voters had cast more than 39 million ballots, surpassing the number of early votes in 2018, according to data maintained by the United States Elections Project. This year’s total will grow because election officials are still receiving ballots through the mail and some states allow in-person early voting through the weekend.
Former president Donald Trump and his allies have attacked early voting, especially vote-by-mail programs, prompting some Republicans to give up a practice that they have embraced in some states for decades. A countervailing force seems to have offset that opposition — more opportunities to vote early.
“We have been on an upward trajectory of early voting from election to election and that’s because states are offering early voting more frequently or more expansively,” said Michael McDonald, the University of Florida political scientist who oversees the elections project.
Early voting has long been on the upswing. In 2014, about 31 percent of ballots were cast by mail or at early-voting locations, McDonald said.
