Hundreds of thousands of voters are casting ballots early across the Northeast.
Governors, members of Congress, ballot initiatives, and other state and local races are on the ballot this year.
As of Wednesday evening, 1,110,053 people had voted early in New York, and 903,279 people had voted early in Massachusetts, according to preliminary numbers from state boards of elections. The Vermont Secretary of State says 131,611 Vermonters had voted as of Thursday afternoon, a turnout rate of 26.1% so far.
And early voting totals in Albany County could double.
Nearly 26,800 voters cast an early ballot by the end of the day Wednesday, according to New York State Board of Elections data. That means early voter turnout has already exceeded the total during the 2022 midterms, when about 25,000 Albany County voters cast a ballot during all nine days of early voting.
"We have been back and forth between poll sites to make sure that it's going smoothly, that everybody is able to vote, and in an unfettered manner with no barriers whatsoever," Albany County Democratic Election Commissioner Allison McLean Lane said Wednesday. "We've had to pivot quite a bit, bring in more machines, bring in more poll pads, but we can accommodate this number of voters, certainly."
Voters are turning out in other parts of New York's Capital Region as well. As of Wednesday evening, 9,509 people have voted early in Rensselaer County, 10,586 in Schenectady County and 18,093 in Saratoga County, according to data from the New York State Board of Elections.
McLean Lane said she expects the high turnout to remain steady in the final days of early voting, which runs through Sunday in New York State. Election Day is Tuesday in all 50 states.
Polling site locations and hours are available on each county board of elections website.
This post was updated Thursday afternoon to include my specific and current numbers from the Vermont Secretary of State's Office.
