Early turnout in Georgia, which has flipped between the Republican and Democratic nominees in the last two presidential elections, has been so strong — more than 4 million voters — that a senior official in the secretary of state's office said claimed that D-Day could resemble a “ghost town” at polling stations.
On Monday, the Associated Press counted about 82 million ballots already cast, just over half the total number of ballots cast in the presidential election four years earlier. This is due in part to Republican voters, who voted early at a higher rate than in recent elections, after a campaign by former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee to counter the long-standing advantage of Democrats in early voting.
Despite long lines at some locations and some issues common to all elections, in-person and mail-in early voting went without major problems.
That also goes for areas of western North Carolina hit last month by Hurricane Helene. Local and state election officials, benefiting from changes made by the Republican-controlled Legislature, made herculean efforts to allow residents to vote despite power outages, lack of water and washed out roads by the waters.
By the end of early voting in North Carolina on Saturday, more than 4.4 million voters — or nearly 57% of all registered voters in the state — had cast ballots. On Monday, turnout in the 25 western counties hit by the hurricane was even higher, with 59% of voters registered, according to Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the state election commission.
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Ms. Brinson Bell called voters and poll workers in hurricane-affected counties “an inspiration to all of us.”
Besides the hurricanes in North Carolina and Florida, the most disturbing disruptions of the election season were arson attacks that damaged ballots at two drop boxes near the Oregon-State border. Washington. The authorities are looking for the author of these fires.
The absence of significant and widespread problems has not stopped Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee, or the RNC, which is now under his sway, from making numerous allegations of election fraud or interference during the election period. early voting, a possible prelude to protests after election day.
He misrepresented an ongoing investigation in Pennsylvania into some 2,500 potentially fraudulent voter registration applications by claiming that one of the counties was “caught with 2,600 fake ballots and forms, all made by the same person.” The survey concerns registration requests; there is no indication that ballots are affected.
In Georgia, Republicans tried to block voters from returning mailed ballots to their local election office before polls closed on Election Day, which is allowed under state law . A judge dismissed their lawsuit over the weekend.
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Mr. Trump and Republicans have also warned of the possibility that Democrats are recruiting masses of noncitizens to vote, a claim they have made without evidence and that flies in the face of data, including that provided by Republican Secretaries of State. Research has consistently shown that it is rare for non-citizens to register to vote. Any non-citizen who does so is subject to misdemeanor charges and deportation, which serves as a significant deterrent.
A case of non-citizen voting was detected during early voting last month and resulted in felony charges in Michigan after a Chinese student cast an illegal early ballot.
It is the first presidential vote since Trump lost to Joe Biden four years ago and began various attempts to circumvent the result and stay in power. These attempts culminated in the violent attack on January 6, 2021, on the United States Capitol to prevent the certification of the results, after Mr. Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell.”
Even today, a solid majority of Republicans believe Trump's lie that Mr. Biden was not legitimately elected, despite reviews, audits and recounts in campaign states, all of which have confirmed Mr. Biden’s victory. A survey last month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that Republicans remain far more skeptical than Democrats about the accuracy of their ballot counting this year.
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Seeking to restore voter confidence in a system plagued by false claims of widespread fraud, Republican lawmakers in more than a dozen states have adopted new voting restrictions since 2020. These rules include shortening the window to request or return an absentee ballot, reducing the availability of ballot drop boxes and adding identification requirements.
During the final weekend before Election Day, Mr. Trump continued to falsely assert that the election was rigged against him and that a winner should be declared on election night, before all the ballots are not counted.
Vice President Kamala Harris urged voters not to be trapped by Trump's tactic of casting doubt on the election. The Democratic candidate told supporters at a rally in Michigan that the tactic was intended to suggest to people “that if they vote, their vote won't matter.” Instead, she urged people who had already voted to encourage their friends to do the same.
During four years of election lies and voting-related conspiracy theories, local election officials faced harassment and even death threats. This situation led to a high turnover rate and increased security at electoral offices and polling places, including the installation of panic buttons and bulletproof glass.
Although no malicious cyberactivity was reported at election offices, foreign actors used fake social media profiles and websites to stoke partisan vitriol and misinformation. In recent weeks, U.S. intelligence agencies have attributed numerous fake videos alleging voter fraud in states where presidential elections are being held to Russia.
On the eve of Election Day, they issued a joint statement with federal law enforcement agencies, warning that Russia, in particular, was stepping up its influence operations, including through means that could incite violence, and that it would likely continue these efforts well after the vote.
Jen Easterly, the nation's top election security official, urged Americans to rely on local and state election officials for election information.
“This is especially important as we are experiencing an election cycle marked by unprecedented disinformation, including disinformation aggressively peddled and amplified by our foreign adversaries on a scale greater than ever,” she said. “We cannot allow our foreign adversaries to vote in our democracy.”
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