An Early Race Begins

Early Voting for the General Election Opens in Leon County

Photo by Janine Robinson on Unsplash

Early voting for the Nov. 5 general election opened in Leon County on Monday, Oct. 21. The voting period will last for the next two weeks, until Sunday, Nov. 3. The last day to request a ballot to be mailed is Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. The dates may differ based on states and counties, but Oct. 26 to Nov. 2 is the mandatory early voting period set by the Florida Supervisors of Elections.

As of Oct. 24, more than 2.7 million people in Florida and 40,000 in Leon County have voted early or voted vote-by-mail. Orange County broke its first-day record as more than 18,150 voters showed up on Monday to cast their ballots.

As of Oct. 24, more than 28 million voters nationwide have cast their ballots. More Republicans nationwide have voted in person, which is largely influenced by the GOP’s recent push for early voting, showing a change in its strategy from the 2020 election. On the other hand, more Democrats have returned ballots by mail. In previous years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Democratic Party generally dominated early voting, but the trend seems to have declined this year. Unaffiliated voters have cast a considerable portion of early votes as well, contributing 21% so far in Arizona, 24% in Nevada, 31% in North Carolina and 10% in Pennsylvania.

That said, the early voting number can hardly predict the final result since there are always unexpected turnouts in the presidential election. Americans are now getting a step closer to determining who their next leader will be.