More than half a million votes already cast in 2020 election

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What issues could arise from mass absentee voting during 2020 election?

Former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker weighs in.

Election Day isn’t until Nov. 3, but more than half a million votes have already been cast in this year’s election.

According to the U.S. Elections Project, a total of 516,334 ballots have been cast as of Thursday morning in states that are reporting their count.

DEMOCRATS DOMINATE ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUESTS IN KEY SWING STATES

As of Thursday, 25 states had started sending out absentee ballots to registered voters who had requested them. North Carolina was the first state to start sending out ballots. Its effort kicked off on Sept. 3, 60 days before Election Day.

In this Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 file photo, workers prepare absentee ballots for mailing at the Wake County Board of Elections in Raleigh, N.C. Nearly 10,000 North Carolinians had their mail-in ballots accepted in the first week of voting, according to data released Friday, Sept. 11 by the State Board of Elections. North Carolina was the first state in the country to send absentee ballots to voters who requested them. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Separately, as of Thursday, none states had started early in-person voting at polling stations.

Due to health concerns over in-person voting amid the coronavirus and facing the likelihood of standing in long lines on Election Day, a surge in absentee voting or early in-person voting is expected this year.

The U.S. Elections Project spotlights on its website that it’s “an information source for the United States electoral system.  The mission of the project is to provide timely and accurate election statistics, electoral laws, research reports, and other useful information regarding the United States electoral system.”