CNN looks at who is voting early in the 36 states that do so, and how it compares to four years ago, when early voting numbers reached historic levels during the coronavirus pandemic. I’m monitoring what’s going on.
This page is updated daily and uses data from Catalist, election officials, and Edison Research.
Democrats had a big advantage over Republicans in early voting four years ago, but the gap is narrowing this time as Republican leaders urge their supporters to cast their ballots before Election Day on November 5th. There is a possibility.
Voters are registered by party in four of the seven presidential battleground states, and in each of those four states, Democrats accounted for a smaller share of pre-election voting this year than they did at this point in 2020. Registration data by party is not available in the following battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
It’s no surprise that interest in early voting has declined overall so far.
The 2020 election saw historic levels of pre-election voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some voters were wary of voting in person because Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommend social distancing. Four years later, as the country emerges from the pandemic, more voters could return to the ballot box either before voting or in person on Election Day.
Another clear indicator from the data so far is that older voters are now making up a larger share of those voting in battleground states than they were at this point in 2020.
The data also shows trends in early voting by race and ethnicity, providing insight into the makeup of the electorate. In some battleground states, more white voters have cast pre-election ballots than at this point in 2020.
