Kamala Harris surges ahead of Donald Trump in early voting

Early voting has already kicked off in multiple states across the country with less than three weeks before Election Day, and Democrats are making big strides when it comes to casting their ballots early in the 2024 election.

More than eight million people have already voted early in person or by absentee ballot, according to tracking by TargetSmart.

That includes more than 4.5 million Democrats who cast ballots, more than a million more than the 3.1 million Republicans who voted early, according to the models. Another 740,000 early voters do not vote with either party.

It also equates to more than 4.4 million women who have already voted, compared to more than 3.7 million men nationally.

The data comes as Democrats have historically cast ballots more often or by mail, as former President Donald Trump has criticized in the past.

But Republican Party officials have been pushing Republican voters to cast their ballots any way they can, including taking advantage of early voting options.

Democrats currently outpace Republicans in early and absentee voting in the seven key battleground states likely to decide the election.

More than 2.6 million ballots have been cast in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Of those, more than 1.4 million were cast by Democrats, while just over 964,000 were cast by Republicans. Another 253,000 unaffiliated voters also cast ballots in battleground states.

However, when it comes to the breakdown of party affiliation with those who voted on a statewide basis as of Friday, the results are very mixed.

Republicans currently lead in early and absentee voting in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, the model shows.

But Democrats are ahead in Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Democrats have made progress on early voting, both nationally and in battleground states, but the distribution depending on the state is mixed, according to early data.

The data shows that in Arizona, Republicans cast 87,000 votes on Friday, while Democrats cast 67,000 votes. Another 6,900 unaffiliated voters also cast their ballots. The split between identifiable male and female voters was nearly split.

In Georgia, where early in-person voting broke records when it started this week, more than 292,000 Republicans cast ballots, while 283,000 Democrats did so. About 28,000 unaffiliated voters have also already voted.

The number of women who voted early in Georgia exceeded the number of men by more than 25,000 on Friday.

Meanwhile, early in-person voting begins next week in Michigan, but about 855,000 people have already cast ballots. Democrats have cast 467,000, while Republicans have 305,000, the tracking shows.

In Nevada, early in-person voting begins on Saturday, Oct. 19, but the state began mailing out ballots earlier this week. More than 8,400 people have voted so far. The breakdown includes more than 5,700 Republican ballots and 2,300 Democratic ballots.

In North Carolina, the first day of in-person voting broke records, with more than 350,000 people casting ballots on Thursday

In North Carolina, mail-in voting has been going on for weeks, but in-person voting is also officially underway.

The state broke records with more than 350,000 people voting Thursday on the first day of early in-person voting.

More than 428,000 people have now cast ballots in the state, according to data provided by the state. That includes more than 156,000 Democrats, 142,000 Republicans and more than 127,000 unaffiliated voters, who make up the largest percentage of registered voters in the state.

At the same time, more than 669,000 people voted in the crucial state of Pennsylvania. And when it comes to early voting, Democrats have made progress there, too.

More than 461,000 of the ballots already cast in Pennsylvania were Democrats, while Republicans cast only 193,000 ballots.

Women in the state are also leading the charge: So far, more than 55 percent of ballots in the Keystone State have been cast by women, while only 43 percent have been cast by men, the modeling shows.

In Wisconsin, the first in-person voting begins on October 22, but at least 281,000 people have already been able to vote.

Democrats outnumber Republicans, who already voted two to one, with 112,000 ballots cast by Democrats and only 53,000 cast by Republicans.

However, the vast majority of ballots submitted in Wisconsin, more than 115,000, came from voters in the state who do not identify as Democrats or Republicans.