In-person voting for this year’s presidential election began on Friday, marking a significant milestone and the start of a six-week sprint leading up to Election Day, following a summer of political turbulence.
Voters lined up to cast their ballots in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Virginia, the first states to offer early in-person voting options. A dozen more states will follow by mid-October.
Some voters who cast their ballots on Friday indicated they didn’t want to wait, hoping to avoid the risk of disturbances or chaos at polling stations after a politically charged summer.
Others, taking advantage of early voting, opted to vote in person rather than by mail to ensure their votes are counted, given the current difficulties faced by the US Postal Service.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has often sought to cast doubt on mail-in voting and encouraged voters to cast their ballots in person on Election Day. However, this year, Trump and the Republican National Committee, which he now controls, have begun to view early voting and mail-in ballots as a way to secure GOP votes before Election Day, a tactic that Democrats have been employing for years.
