2020 presidential election ballots cast so far

Many Americans are voting early in the 2020 presidential election amid concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic and U.S. Postal Service timing.

More than 45 million total ballots cast as of Thursday morning suggests a record turnout for this year's race compared to the 5.9 million ballots that were cast at a similar time in 2016, according to data from the United States Elections Project.

That number of early ballots cast so far represents 33.2% of the total national voter turnout in 2016, and the total number of ballots cast includes 32.8 million mail-in ballots and 12.9 million in-person ballots.

"The pace has dropped," said Elections Project founder and University of Florida political science professor Michael McDonald in an Oct. 18 blog post on the project website, "because last week the early vote ran about six-and-a-half times at the same point in 2016, whereas this week it is only a little less than five times the comparable 2016 point."

McDonald said the lower rate is due to two factors.

"First, it’s not like no one voted early in 2016. That was a record year for early voting, with about 40% of all votes cast early. We’re at 20% of the 2016 total vote as I write this," he wrote. "The ratio of 2020 early vote to 2016 early vote is going to come down simple because it is impossible that early voting is going to be six times what it was in 2016."