More than 100 million Americans cast their ballots before polls opened Tuesday, shattering records and likely reducing the number of people who will turn out to vote in person this year.
But the threat remains for issues to arise, from the routine Election Day headaches — such as long lines and voting machines malfunctioning — to uniquely 2020 problems, including the threat that the coronavirus pandemic poses to voters and poll workers alike and the heightened fears law enforcement and elections officials have about intimidation and conflict occurring at the polls.
Even as record numbers of Americans have voted early, voting rights groups say they are bracing for the possibility of long lines on Election Day after officials shuttered polling places because of the pandemic and potential confusion over many states’ new voting processes this election.
Election Day also is expected to bring thousands of partisan poll watchers into balloting locations.
Election challenges from the pandemic extend beyond the polls, as the millions of mail-in ballots are expected to lead to a delay in the counting of votes once the polls close — particularly in the battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where the state legislatures failed to pass laws for processing absentee ballots before Tuesday.
“Look, the country is on edge,” North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said Monday. But voters “should take comfort in knowing that they will be the ones who determine the winners of these elections — not any politicians, not any lawyers,” said Stein, a Democrat.
Despite election officials’ warnings that it may take several days to finish counting ballots.