(#6479) 6 days left until election results...early ballot totals are heating up!

      More than 41 million ballots have been returned to election offices throughout our nation as of this early morning. In the 2022 midterm election, 48 million early ballots in total were returned. This election is trending toward a very high turnout for a midterm election. Just as I and many others had hoped. Not only is enthusiasm to vote exemplified by early vote so is mood. By enthusiasm I mean eagerness to make sure our votes are collected and counted. By mood I mean we are highly motivated to make sure we vote for solutions to troubles we are experiencing. Many of us are aware that keeping the current status quo is unacceptable and it is showing through early voting that we are not going to stand for any more of it!
     More than 60 million, and counting, mail in ballots were mailed out with nearly 20 million of them returned so far. I suspect that at minimum another 20 million will arrive at our county elections offices. In person early voting is already above 21 million counted and I expect at minimum another 15 to 20 million. So you can see my current expectation of early votes will be somewhere above 75 million total early votes. Which would be about 10 million ballots returned short from the record early vote of 85 million in the presidential election of 2024. We have 5 days left to early vote and this week has seen a concerted effort by our citizenry to engage in getting early ballots returned. This final weekend, which starts in two days, should be a tremendous turnout for in person voting and ballot drop boxes.
     We American voters who have already voted are anxiously waiting on those of us who have not yet voted. Our nation can be slow to finish what needs to be done but somehow we have always arrived at the finish line in time. This feels like one of those times. For me it isn't just about the final total to look forward to seeing counted on election night. It is also about watching these early votes come in to be counted as received by election offices. I get to feel our national heartbeat in a way. Early voting is like our courage growing stronger to do the hard job that needs to be done. It gives all of us a lift up to a place where we can be proud of who we are because we want to be who we are!