Millions of voters across the country — in about a dozen states now and increasing in the coming days — are already casting ballots for president and other important races set to be decided Nov. 5, including in key swing states Pennsylvania and Arizona.
According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ polling forecast update this week, Harris has a 52 percent chance of winning the presidency in the "exceptionally close" race, but neither candidate has a lock on the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.
Nationally, Harris has a razor-thin lead within the margins of error at an average 49.8 percent to Trump's 46.8 percent, the national polling tracker shows.
Early voting has been a taboo topic for some Republicans as former President Trump has villainized mail-in and early ballots as unfair along with his false claims about the results of the 2020 election. The former president has advocated for all voting to take place in person on Election Day, and he has cast doubt on the veracity of ballots cast otherwise, even as Republicans nationally have encouraged voters to embrace alternate voting methods for convenience.
"We have this stupid stuff, where you can vote 45 days early. I wonder what the hell happens during that 45," Trump said during a Pennsylvania rally last month. "It's terrible."
He also blasted early voting repeatedly over the summer.
"They have early voting, late voting, everything is so ridiculous," Trump said during a Florida rally in July. "We should have one-day voting, paper ballots, voter ID and certification of citizenship ... that's what we're striving for."
Early voting for Nov. 5 already has started in California, Virginia, Montana, Nebraska, Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine, Oregon, Wyoming and Arizona.
Next week will see early voting start in Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, Tennessee, North Carolina, Louisiana, Washington state and Massachusetts.
Nevada's early voting period begins Oct. 19.
Early voting laws vary by state, and several states don't allow voters to cast their ballots outside of in-person on Election Day without approved excuses. Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire have no early voting procedures.
Forty-seven states, D.C. and other territories allow all voters to take part in early in-person voting, including places with all-mail elections, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Early voting could be even more crucial this election cycle as states along the coastline get battered by repeated hurricanes. Hurricane Helene devastated parts of crucial battleground North Carolina, displacing thousands of people, and Florida is being battered by Hurricane Milton a week after taking a hit from Helene.
RELATED: Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake will vote early Thursday, despite her previous criticism related to Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election and her own unsuccessful gubernatorial bid in 2022.
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