Long lines at early voting sites, huge increases in mail-in ballots due to the pandemic and polls showing sky-high enthusiasm for voting are all pointing to record turnout in the 2020 presidential election. For comparison, more than 58 million early ballots were cast in 2016 out of more than 136 million. Greg Abbott added an extra week of early voting in the face of the pandemic, for a total early voting period of almost three weeks. "The political climate of where we are as a nation is more pressing," Ms. Lopez said outside an East Austin early voting location. Other counties across the state also broke voting records in the first days of early voting.

Source: Mint October 17, 2020 13:07 UTC