Ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, which will see Republican candidate Donald Trump face Democrat nominee Kamala Harris in the polls, millions of Americans have opted to cast their ballot early. At the time of publication, 76 million people have cast early votes.
All but three U.S. states and the District of Columbia offer early voting options, with both the Republican and Democrat Parties actively encouraging early voting among their supporters. A record number of votes have been cast in certain battleground states. According to Rachael Cobb, associate professor of political science and legal studies at Suffolk University in Boston, Mass., early voting has significant benefits for both campaigns and voters.
With in-person early voting, she emphasizes that voters can go and receive whatever support necessary from poll workers.
“[Voters] can see that everything is handled with their own eyes,” Cobb says. She also emphasizes how convenient early voting is, often allowing people to vote at centers close to their work or home, without too much impact to their busy schedules.
Despite the heightened engagement in the electoral system, election officials in multiple different states have reported damaged and vandalized ballot boxes.
Read More: Here’s How Many Americans Have Voted Early in the Presidential Election—So Far
Amid the tight race between Harris and Trump, voters may want to check and see if their 2024 presidential election ballot has been processed. If the vote was cast using a mail-in or absentee ballot, multiple states have online databases through which citizens can input their personal information—such as their name, date of birth, and zip code—and see whether their ballot has been counted. However, some states highlight that a voter’s mail-in ballot could take some time to show up on the respective databases.
As for people who cast their ballot in-person, certain states also have options for voters to track their provisional…
