The 2020 election could have the highest voter turnout rate in over a century with an estimated 150million Americans predicted to cast their vote for the next president – the highest turnout since 1908.
So far more than 58million Americans have already cast their ballots as of Sunday, with just nine days to go before November 3.
University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, who administers the US Elections Project, predicts a record turnout of 150 million citizens voting in the election, representing about 65 percent of eligible voters.
This year’s high stakes race between Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden is projected to eclipse the voter turnout of 2016, when approximately 137million people voted.
Despite challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis, swathes of Americans have headed to the polls and waited in long lines for early voting or mailed in their ballots.
According to the US Elections Project the most votes have been cast in Texas followed by California and Florida so far and across the nation more than 39million mail ballots have been filed and more than 18.9million in-person votes have been cast.
The 2020 election could have the highest voter turnout rate in over a century with an estimated 150million Americans predicted to cast their vote for the next president – the highest turnout since 1908. Voters wearing face masks cast their ballots in a vote center at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday
Harriet Harris, 99, of Pekin, Illinois uses a stylus as she votes for the first time using an electronic voting machine during early voting at the Tremont Community Center in Peoria on Friday. Harris has voted in every presidential election since 1944. This year was the first time the lifelong Republican cast a ballot for a Democratic presidential candidate
Voters pictured linked up waiting to cast in their early vote at The Dobbs Ferry Village Hall in Westchester County, New York on Saturday
So far more than 58million Americans have already cast their ballots as of Sunday, with just nine days to go before November 3, according to the US Elections Project, with the most votes cast in Texas, California and Florida
Among the votes that have poured in 49.2 percent were Democrats, 27.8 percent Republican and 22.4 percent with no party affiliation. That data only comes from states that provide party registration data.
Among the 19 states that provide party registration data, Democrat voters have returned twice the number of mail ballots, at 10.9million mail ballots, compared to Republican’s 5.1million returned mail ballots.
Across the country states have seen long lines at the polls and Americans drop off their mail ballot at secure boxes in the home stretch to Election Day.
In Georgia some people waited in line for more than 10 hours to cast their ballots, with similar sluggish lines reported in Virginia and Ohio.
In New York state, voters jammed polling places and stood in line for hours to cast ballots on the state’s first day of early voting on Saturday.
In Wisconsin 1.1million people returned their ballots this week.
Texas has already surpassed 70 percent of total turnout in 2016 with 6.4million Texans, or 37.6 percent of registered voters, casting their ballots by Thursday, with nearly 90 percent of those votes cast in person. In 2016 turnout was 59.2 percent in Texas.
Experts at Decision Desk HQ, a company that processes election and early voting results, now anticipate that between 10 million to 12 million people could vote in the Lone Star state.
A woman walks into the Polk County Auditor’s office to cast her early vote Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa
Judge Lauren Ferris campaigns for reelection outside an early voting location in El Paso, Texas on Saturday
In Georgia, some voters waited as long as 10 hours to cast their early vote. Voters in Gwinnett County above Saturday
People arrive to cast their ballots just after sunrise during early voting in Celebration, Florida on Sunday
A voter is assisted by a polling station clerk inside the Staples Center as California in-person early voting for the U.S. Presidential election begins, in Los Angeles on Saturday
A supporter holds his sealed voting ballot as Democratic vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks at a campaign stop at Northwest Activities Center on Sunday in Detroit, Michigan
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez submits her ballot after participating in early voting at a polling station in The Bronx in New York City on Sunday morning
Derek Ryan, a GOP data analyst, predicted this week that Texas turnout would likely surpass 12 million, or roughly 3 million more voters than 2016 – more than the population of neighboring New Mexico.
‘It’s hard to say, “Yes, if we reach 12 million then Democrats win,” because you never know,’ said Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party. ‘But on balance, yes, if we reach 12 million voters we’ll win this election.’
In accordance with Gov. Greg Abbott’s order, Texas voters have an extra six days of early voting in a bid to disperse crowds at polls due to the coronavirus pandemic, instead of opting for mail-in voting as other states have.
The voting bonanza has some Democrats optimistic that decades of low turnout and undisputed Republican dominance may soon be a thing of the past.
But what that all means for Texas is far from clear. Voters don’t register by party in the state, making it difficult to know which party or presidential candidate has an edge.
People line up to cast their ballots shortly after sunrise during early voting session in Celebration, Florida on Sunday
A view of the early voting line outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, where some people waited three hours to vote above on Saturday, the first day of early voting in the state
he line to cast ballots for early voting at a polling station in The Brox, New York City above
To promote early voting, a stilt-walker and other circus artists perform on the campus for Philadelphia School of Circus Arts in Philadelphia on Saturday
People wait in line to cast their early votes at the Polk County Auditor’s office in Des Moines, Iowa. Early vote turnout in Polk County has already exceeded 2016’s total
Polls are unusually close in Texas, but neither President Donald Trump or Democrat Joe Biden has swung through Texas, focusing on clear battleground states instead like Arizona and Florida.
The striking numbers are across the board – in big cities that are solidly Democrat, in tipping-point suburbs where Republicans are losing ground and, to a lesser extent, in heavily Latino counties along the border. In Harris County, home to Houston, more than 1million votes have already been cast.
However, there have been obstacles to getting voters to cast their ballots. This week the Alabama supreme court allowed officials to ban curbside voting and in Iowa the supreme court upheld a Republican-backed law that could prevent election officials from sending thousands of mail-in ballots by making it harder for auditors to correct voter applications with omitted information, as per The Guardian.
The pandemic will likely hold major sway in how Americans vote this election as the nation saw its highest single-day coronavirus case count since late July, reporting 61,671 new cases on Saturday.
Across the country there are more than 8.5million coronavirus cases and more than 224,000 fatalities linked to the virus.
In the days leading up to the election Trump has hit the campaign trail where he smears Biden and his children as a ‘crime family’, accusing them of corruption.
His attacks come on the heels of a New York Post report from October 14 which claims a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden was left at a computer repair shop in Wilmington, Delaware in April 2019. The shop owner reported it to authorities after seeing its contents.
In the days leading up to the election Trump has hit the campaign trail where he smears Biden and his children as a ‘crime family’, accusing them of corruption. Trump pictured arriving to speak during a rally at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Londonderry, New Hampshire on Sunday
Supporters cheer before US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire on Sunday
Joe Biden condemned President Donald Trump ‘s relentless attacks against his son Hunter Biden in a new podcast interview, calling it ‘crass’ to go after a rival’s family. The Democratic nominee pictured waving to reporters as he leaves mass at St. Joseph On the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church on Sunday in Wilmington, Delaware
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden leaves St. Joseph On the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church with his granddaughters Natalie Biden, left, and Finnegan Biden, right
The post claims the laptop and hard drive contain e-mails that purportedly implicate Joe Biden in Hunter’s international business dealings during his time as Vice President, which Biden and his campaign has vehemently denied.
Adding to the scandal, Hunter Biden’s alleged sex tapes and images showing him using drugs and engaging in sexual acts with several women have been uploaded on a Chinese digital video platform linked to Steve Bannon Saturday evening.
The videos and images appeared to be uploaded by a single user on GTV, which is a subsidiary of GTV Media Group, founded by former Trump senior adviser Steve Bannon and Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui in April 2020.
It’s not clear if the footage came from Biden’s alleged ‘laptop from hell’, but some images appear to be from a third party laptop.
There does not appear to be any confirmation that the footage or images are legitimate.
Joe Biden condemned President Donald Trump’s relentless attacks against his son Hunter Biden in a new podcast interview, calling it ‘crass’ to go after a rival’s family.
In a Pod Save America episode released Saturday, Biden was asked why he hasn’t hit back at Trump by highlighting how the president’s own children have profited from his office.
‘It’s a specific decision. I just think it’s crass,’ Biden said.
‘I’m running against Donald Trump, not his children, and the American people want to hear about their families, not about Trump’s family or my family, although I’m very proud of my family.’
Democratic U.S. Vice Presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks outside of Northwest Activities Center on Sunday in Detroit, Michigan
Debra Hubbard jumps after voting on the first day of early voting inside the Vote Center at Staples Center sports and entertainment arena in Los Angeles Saturday
Voters wait in line before voting in Gwinnett County, Georgia outside the Shorty Howell Park early voting location on Saturday
‘It’s just not how I was raised. It’s that basic. It’s Donald Trump.’
Biden took a break from the campaign trail and put on a happy family display on Sunday morning as he and his granddaughters Natalie and Finnegan attended mass at a Catholic church in Wilmington, Delaware.
Meanwhile Trump continued on the campaign trail stopping in New Hampshire, a state where polling has been sparse but where Democrat Biden leads him by an average of 11 percentage points.
After voting early in his home state of Florida on Saturday, Trump raced through rallies in three states – North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin – where he promised the end of the coronavirus pandemic was in sight and said Biden would threaten jobs by pushing for more COVID-19 restrictions.
Biden, who made two campaign stops in Pennsylvania on Saturday, has no public schedule for Sunday.
Two new polls released Sunday had Trump trailing Biden nationally – and a Dallas Morning News poll has Biden leading Trump 48 to 45 per cent.
A new USC / Dornsife poll has Biden leading Trump by 10 points nationally, 53 to 43, while an IDB / TIPP poll has the lead at 6, 51 to 45.
CBS / YouGov polls gave Biden tight leads in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.