Early voters cast their ballots on Friday in an early vote for the US presidential election scheduled for next November.
Early voting has begun in three US states: Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota, in a process whose integrity has been questioned by Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2020 elections.
Dozens of people waited at a polling station to vote early in downtown Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.
Several wore Harris-Walz T-shirts, while “Trump-Vance” signs were also raised outside the building, referring to each party’s vice presidential nominee, Democrat Tim Walz and Republican J.D. Vance.
“I’m excited,” said Michelle Kilkenny, 55, noting that early voting “especially on the first day, helps the campaign and raises the level of enthusiasm.”
Most US states allow in-person or mail-in voting to enable those whose schedules do not allow them to cast their ballots on Election Day, November 5.
Trump has frequently criticized all forms of voting other than on Election Day, repeatedly blamed mail-in ballots for his 2020 election defeat to President Joe Biden, and is sometimes skeptical of early voting, despite his campaign’s efforts to promote it.
Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee, has come out ahead of Trump, who was ahead of Biden in July, but the gap between the vice president and the former president is very small.
Harris heads to Atlanta, Georgia, one of seven swing states expected to be crucial in the election on Friday.
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