More than 50m Americans have cast ballots in the presidential election with 11 days to go, a pace that could lead to the highest turnout in more than a century, according to data from the US Elections Project.
The eye-popping figure is a sign of intense interest in the contest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, as well as Americans’ desire to reduce their risk of exposure to Covid-19, which has killed more than 221,000 people across the US.
Many states have expanded in-person early voting and mail-in ballots ahead of election day, 3 November, as a safer way to vote during the pandemic.
The high level of early voting has led Michael McDonald, the University of Florida professor who administers the US Elections Project, to predict a record turnout of about 150m, 65% of eligible voters, the highest since 1908.
In Texas, voting has already surpassed 70% of the total turnout in 2016.
On Friday, Trump will hold rallies in the battleground state of Florida, where opinion polls show a tight race and over 4m votes cast, approaching half the total four years ago. Biden will deliver a speech in his home state of Delaware on his plans for leading a recovery from the pandemic.
