More than 78 million ballots have been cast early this year. Here are 3 takeaways from pre-election voting

Here are three big takeaways from what we know about those who decided to vote ahead of Election Day.

Pre-election voting is winding down across the country, with many states wrapping up in-person early voting over the weekend. More than 78 million ballots have already been cast in 47 states and the District of Columbia, according to data gathered by CNN, Edison Research and Catalist, a company that provides data, analytics and other services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit advocacy groups, including insights into who is voting before November. The data offers a sense of who is choosing to vote ahead of Election Day, but it isn’t predictive of election results. For instance, we don’t know who people are voting for, and the data doesn’t include the millions of Americans who will head to the polls Tuesday. But with less than 24 hours until Election Day polls start to open across the country, here are three big takeaways from what we know about those who decided to vote ahead of November 5. Across the country, far fewer voters chose to vote ahead of Election Day this year compared with the pandemic-era 2020 election. Four years ago, more than 110 million Americans voted early in person or by mail – roughly 70% of everyone who voted in that election.