40% of Voters Have Already Cast Ballots in US Presidential Election... Mail Voting Likely to Decide Outcome

Early Voting Participants Total 93.25 Million on the First Day... Changes Expected in the Vote Counting Process

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Early voting, including mail-in ballots, is expected to effectively determine the outcome of the election in the United States. As of one day before the election, about 4 out of 10 voters have already cast their votes.

According to the early voting status site "U.S. Election Project," operated by Professor Michael McDonald of the University of Florida, as of 4:20 PM on the 1st (local time), the total number of voters participating in early in-person voting and mail-in voting combined reached 93.25 million. Among them, 34.05 million voters voted early in person, and 59.21 million voted by mail. Considering that the total number of voters in the 2016 presidential election was 136.5 million, about 70% of the voters from four years ago have already completed voting.

As of the 31st of last month, CNN reported that early voters exceeded 90 million, meaning 43% of registered voters nationwide had voted. This means that 4 out of 10 voters have chosen either President Donald Trump or Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The key point is that the scale of early voting has reached a historic high in U.S. election history, which will bring significant changes to the presidential vote counting process. Generally, the winner is somewhat decided on election night or early the next morning, but this time, since the gap between the two candidates is not large, the outcome is expected to be determined only after all mail-in ballots are counted. The acceptance period for mail-in ballots varies by state, and there are as many as 22 states that accept mail-in ballots postmarked on Election Day, November 3rd, even if they arrive after Election Day.

The Washington Post (WP) stated, "Many things remain uncertain, including how many Americans will participate in the vote," adding, "The presidential election results could be confirmed on the 3rd, or it could take weeks until all mail-in ballots are verified in each state, or it could take even longer due to legal disputes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.