Oct. 31 (UPI) — Results of a new Gallup poll show that 54% of registered voters have already cast their ballots, and that enthusiasm is high among both parties, but especially strong among Democrats.
While more than half have cast ballots ahead of the official November 5th Election Day, the number is down from 64% in 2020. That holds true for registered voters in both parties.
The 2024 election stands to be the second in which more ballots are cast before Election Day than on it.
Fewer Americans intend to vote ahead of Election Day this year than did so in 2020, but the rate is still higher than in election years before the COVID-19 pandemic spurred the broad adoption of early voting,” Gallup said in a release.
The latest results are based on an Oct. 14-27 Gallup poll, which asked voters when they plan to vote and by what means. The number of early voters has increased as Election Day has gotten closer, Gallup said, following a familiar trend from past elections.
Democrats are more likely to vote early than Republicans, according to the new poll.
Some “63% of registered voters who are Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents have already voted or plan to vote before Election Day, compared with 47% of Republicans and Republican leaners,” Gallup continued.
Fewer Republicans also voted early in 2020, but prior to that year, members of both parties were about equally as likely to cast ballots ahead of Election Day.
Seventy percent of voters reported being more enthusiastic than usual about the election when asked in August, up from 56% in March. Democrats (77%) report being even more enthusiastic about the election than Republicans (66%), which researchers credit to Vice President Kamala Harris replacing President Joe Biden as the party’s nominee.
“The overall level of voter enthusiasm is on the high end of what Gallup has measured at the close of recent presidential election campaigns, along with the 2004 (67%), 2008 (68%) and 2020 (69%) elections.
“Both Republicans’ and Democrats’ levels of enthusiasm are similar to what they were four years ago,” Gallup said.
More registered voters say they have been contacted by the Harris campaign (42%) than by former President Donald Trump‘s campaign (35%).
“In an election environment that generally favors the Republican Party, the Harris campaign’s efforts to engage voters — and Democrats’ greater enthusiasm about voting — have helped the Democrats make this a competitive election,” Gallup said.