With eight days until the general election, more than 22 million people have already voted through early voting and absentee ballots, The New York Times reports.
In many states, the number of early voters is lower than at the same point in the 2012 cycle. In Texas, however, the number of early voters is sharply higher than in the previous presidential election. A closer look at those votes—most of which were cast before FBI Director James Comey announced on Friday that the bureau was reviewing a new trove of emails related to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton—also shows that across all states with available data, early voting has increased among Hispanics and decreased among young people.
As of Friday, 12 states—including Louisiana—had provided data on early voters by party registration, though states do not reveal the exact number of votes cast for the candidates. While specifics are not available, the Pelican State figures show more Democrats are voting early than Republicans.
Predicting whether the number of early voters will be higher or lower than in previous election cycles is complex and varies widely across states. According to Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, any increase or decrease in early voting between election cycles depends on three factors: whether the availability of early voting has changed, whether the state has become more competitive, and what the campaigns have done to promote early voting. The percentage of early voters has increased over the past two decades.
