Early voting polling places open in Florida

Polling places are starting to open for early voting in the battleground state of Florida.

Fifty counties will open polling places on Monday, including the state's largest counties: Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange and Palm Beach. The remaining counties will start in the coming week.

Early voting by mail has been underway for weeks. Nearly 1.2 million voters in Florida have already mailed in ballots. The state has nearly 13 million registered voters.

Polls have shown a tight race in Florida between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. A victory in the state is critical to Trump's hopes for capturing the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

Both candidates are sweeping through Florida this week, trying to boost turnout among their supporters.

Election Day is Nov. 8.