“We can be certain this will be a high-turnout election,” Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political scientist who tracks voting via the US Elections Project, told the Associated Press.
According to the project’s website, approximately 22,458,086 ballots have been cast so far in states such as California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.
Democrats are currently showing up in stronger numbers, outvoting Republicans 2-1. However, some experts believe this disparity will soon even out.
“The Republican numbers are going to pick up,” John Couvillon, a GOP pollster tracking early voting, asserted to AP. “The question is at what velocity, and when?”
As of this article’s publication, voters have nationally cast 16% of the total ballots submitted in the 2016 general election, according to the US Elections Project.
Reports of voter suppression have been reignited in states such as Georgia, which began early voting on October 12.
"Georgia voters are excited and setting records every hour - and this is all during a pandemic, lest we forget ... we will have a successful election, keeping all of our voting options accessible in all parts of Georgia, regardless of zip code," said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday, as reported by ABC News.
"Some precincts are more favored than others by voters, and they just have longer lines ... [but] everyone will have the opportunity to vote."
Social media has been flooded with images and videos of voters across the country standing in massive lines with hourslong wait times.
A fact sheet released by the National Association of Letter Carriers estimates that while 139 million Americans participated in the 2016 general election, the number of ballots cast in the upcoming 2020 election “could surpass 150 million voters.”
A total of 150 million ballots would amount to around 65% of the US population casting votes.