Nov. 8 (UPI) — More than 44.2 million people cast early ballots in the midterm election as voters prepare to take to the polls for the final chance to cast their ballots on Election Day.
Because early votes cannot be counted until polls are closed in some states many tight races may take an extra day or so to be decided as voters walk to the polls on the traditional voting day.
According to the United States Election Project at the University of Florida, Texas and California led the country with more than five million people voting early in each state, followed by Florida with 4.7 million.
In Georgia, where Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., is trying to hold on to his seat in the Red State against former football star Hershel Walker, R-Ga., a record 2.5 million cast their ballots early as of Saturday, shattering the old record of 2.1 million by 20%.
Arizona, which has been marred by allegations, investigations over early voting fraud and even voter intimidation claims, those turning in ballots ahead of time is down from 2018 totals. As of last Thursday, 1.4 million votes were cast early, down from the 1.5 million at the same point in the last midterm election.
In Phoenix’s Maricopa County, where half of the state’s voters are located, Republicans were behind their pace of early ballot returns from four years ago going into this past weekend.
Registered Democrats cast the earliest votes (42.8%) in states that allow such voting while Registered Republicans cast 34%. Republicans, though, traditionally cast the largest number of votes on Election Day. The project said 23.2% of early voting came from non-affiliated voters.
President Joe Biden and his granddaughter, Natalie Biden, voted last month during early voting in Delaware. Biden has been barnstorming the country stomping for Democratic candidates in hopes to hold on to the House and Senate. Losing one or both bodies could hamper his final two years.
