61 million ballots cast before Election Day

More than 61 million Americans cast their ballots before Tuesday, a figure that exceeds the total from the 2022 midterms.

The University of Florida's Election Lab compiled data showing that early in-person and mail-in voting was 34% higher than in the last midterm general election. This surge was driven primarily by voters who cast their ballots in person during the early voting period.

On Tuesday, tens of millions more voters cast ballots across the country. Election administrators handled typical day-of issues, including delayed poll openings, long lines, and equipment problems. In Westchester County, New York, a ballot scanner malfunction delayed the process. Voters in the competitive 17th Congressional District had to hand their ballots to workers for later scanning. Mike Lawler, the Republican incumbent, posted on X that every ballot would be counted. He and his Democratic opponent both urged voters not to be deterred by the technical delay.

The Trump administration's Justice Department deployed approximately 1,000 monitors to polling places on Election Day. Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division, stated in a written release that election integrity was a top priority for the administration and the division. The department sent monitors to observe voting in every state. Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, sending observers has been a routine method for documenting racial discrimination at the polls. However, recent claims of widespread fraud from President Trump and other federal officials raised concerns among local officials that monitors might interfere with voting.

As of Tuesday evening, no widespread interference was reported. The New Mexico secretary of state's office did receive reports of unusual behavior in Bernalillo County. Lindsey Bachman, a spokesperson for the office, said the New Mexico Department of Justice contacted the federal team lead to address the issue. The federal team provided assurances that the behavior would be corrected.

Concerns about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents near polling sites did not materialize as of 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Many voting observers described the day as fairly normal. Polls remained open in much of the western United States until later in the day. Flooding in parts of Florida and the Four Corners states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah forced local officials to relocate some polling sites. Emergency ballots were used in these areas.

Voting rights advocates are now turning their attention to the certification of results. Officials warned about potential ballot seizures, following the FBI's earlier seizure of election materials from Fulton County, Georgia, in 2020. Shaylyn Cochran, deputy executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told a press call on Tuesday that the organization would remain vigilant. She noted that Election Day is the last day to cast a ballot, but the election season continues after that date.

Counting of ballots continues across the country. The results will determine the composition of Congress and various state offices. Local election officials are processing the votes cast on Tuesday alongside the millions cast during early voting.