The first in-person votes have been cast in the US presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, a historic moment that comes six weeks before Election Day on November 5.
Virginia on Friday became the first state in the nation to allow in-person voting, and early voting locations there will remain open through Nov. 2. Long lines were seen as voters cast their ballots at the national, state and local levels.
The situation in two other states, Minnesota and South Dakota, is different, as voters can only cast their absentee ballots in person instead of sending them by mail.
“Why not try to be first? It’s kind of fun, right?” Jason Miller, a Minnesota voter, told The Associated Press.
Getty ImagesAccording to findings from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data Science Lab, about 69% of votes cast in the 2020 election were cast through early in-person voting or mail-in ballots.
Some people in a queue in Fairfax, Virginia, told the BBC they felt it was their civic duty to vote early.
“You never know if you’re going to get hit by a bus,” one voter said Friday, adding that he wanted to be “safe, not sorry.” Another said the nice weather — and a day of working from home — prompted them to vote early.
Virginia has been a Democratic state in recent elections, but some Republicans are optimistic that it can reverse that trend in November. Voters in the state will also be casting ballots for all 11 members of Congress and one of the state’s two senators.
Early and mail-in voting has been a hot topic since the 2020 election, with just 37% of Republicans saying people should have the option to vote early, according to one poll from the Pew Research Center. This contrasts sharply with the 82% support of Democrats.
Recent polls suggest the presidential race is extremely tight, with Harris holding a slight national lead.
In the months leading up to President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race, polls consistently showed him trailing Trump. But the race tightened when Harris became the Democratic nominee.
Along with the presidential race, millions of voters in 41 states will also have the opportunity to express their opinion on a specific policy position by voting on referendum initiatives on November 5.
Ten states are asking voters to decide whether to enshrine abortion access in their constitutions, West Virginia voters will be asked to decide whether to ban physician-assisted suicide, and voters in three states will be asked to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults.
According to a count by the Associated Press, more than 140 measures are in the running in the United States.
