18.4 million American voters have already voted

“Democratic fervor”, “pre-electoral enthusiasm”: the American media underline a very high voter turnout in American states where early voting or by mail has already started.

"Haunted by the potential fragility of their electoral system, Americans are voting particularly early this year and in very large numbers," said the Los Angeles Times, which sees it as "an omen of record participation" in the November 3, 2020 elections.

As of October 15, more than 18.4 million voters had cast their votes, either directly at the ballot box in the 23 US states that already allow advance voting, or by post.

If this trend is confirmed, the United States could find itself for the first time in its history “in an unprecedented situation: with more votes cast in advance than on the day of the election, on November 3,” said the Minister. Californian daily.

Democratic wave

The Washington Post, for its part, welcomes "this huge wave of advance votes" and sees it as proof of "democratic enthusiasm". The daily in the federal capital underlines the fact that it is above all the Democratic voters who come to put their ballot in the ballot box earlier and that a disproportionate number of African-American voters and women go to the polls in advance, two categories of voters rather favorable to the Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

In the columns of the British daily The Guardian, Michael McDonald, professor at the University of Florida and specialist in electoral participation, estimates that “150 million Americans are expected to cast their vote this year, out of a voting age population of 239 ,2 millions". And the expert recalled, by way of comparison, that in 2016 “137.5 million Americans went to the polls”.

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