T + T – Normal size
Polling stations opened for early voting in three US states, Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota, yesterday, officially kicking off the US presidential election season in the United States.
Videos posted online by American television networks showed voters lining up in Virginia to cast their votes.
Early voting centers in the state are scheduled to continue operating until November 2.
Minnesota and South Dakota also gave voters the opportunity, as of yesterday, to cast their ballots in person through a different method, as the two states are among 23 states that allow voters to drop off their absentee ballots in person at election offices or other designated locations instead of mailing them.
With early voting becoming popular over the past decade, experts expect a large number of voters to cast their ballots early this election season.
During the 2020 election, more than 69% of voters cast their ballots either through mail-in ballots or early in-person voting, according to election data collected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data Science Lab.
The data showed that this percentage was 40% in the 2016 elections, compared to 33% in the 2012 elections.
