More than 3 million New Yorkers have voted so far

About 3.3 million New Yorkers statewide have voted so far in the 2020 general election, Gannett Albany reports.

This means approximately one in four state residents have already cast their vote for the 2020 election. A little over 2 million people had voted in-person as of Saturday, the day before the final day of early voting, while another 1 million voters had returned their absentee ballots as of Tuesday.

Other large swing states have seen even higher turnout. Upwards of 8 million voters have participated in the election in Florida so far, amounting to more than 50% of the state’s registered voters.

This year marks the first time New Yorkers have been able to vote early in a presidential election. It also happens to be one that has energized voters across the country – early voting has already surpassed two-thirds of all ballots cast during the 2016 presidential election. 

The first two days of early voting this year in New York statewide was eight times greater than turnout during the first two days of last year’s early voting period. But that often meant New Yorkers faced lengthy lines while trying to go vote this past week, as many election officials throughout the state were unprepared for the surge. Wait times were particularly egregious in New York City, where some had to spend three hours or more to vote.