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The 2024 election is seeing a strong embrace of early voting by the electorate nationally, statewide and in Cape May County.
As of early Friday, Nov. 1, with almost three days left to early in-person voting, 27% of all registered voters in the county had cast their ballots.
Rita Rothberg, who has worked for 40 years in the county clerk’s office and for 20 years as clerk, admits to being astounded by the numbers.
As of the same day, Nov. 1, New Jersey saw 1.6 million early votes cast, accounting for approximately 24% of the state’s registered voters, with 878,046 as early in-person and 734,221 as mail-in ballots.
Nationally, 72 million voters cast early ballots as of the morning of Saturday, Nov. 2. That comes to 45% of the approximately 161 million registered voters. Early voting continued after that point, and those numbers will grow further.
Early in-person voting in New Jersey began on Saturday, Oct. 26. By the morning of Friday, Nov. 1, some 11,107 voters in Cape May County had used this option to cast their ballots. Meanwhile 9,519 voters in the county had used mail-in voting to that point. That’s almost 21,000 votes cast with Election Day still four days off.
Republicans favored early voting in person and Democrats were heavier users of mail-in ballots. Mail-in votes received in the county show 4,210 from Democrats and 3,678 from Republicans. The unaffiliated and those who register with other parties returned 1,631 ballots by mail.
In terms of in-person early voting, Republicans are showing their appreciation for an option that still demands in-person presence at the polls but offers time flexibility. Some 6,094 Republicans in Cape May used early in-person, compared to 2,681 Democrats and 2,332 independents or other party members.
The numbers will grow further, as the remainder of Nov. 1 and the following two days are not accounted for in these numbers and were still available for early in-person voting; mail-in ballots were arriving every day. As of the morning of Nov. 1, some 25% of the mail-in ballots issued had not been returned.
In the state numbers, the expected heavier use of early voting by Democrats does show. Looking at all methods of early voting, 46% of the ballots cast were from Democrats, 29% from Republicans, and 25% from independents.
National numbers provided by the University of Florida Election Lab provide an even broader perspective and add new insights.
Of the early vote nationally, 53% came from in-person methods and 47% from mail-in. Democrats accounted for 38% of those using some form of early voting, Republicans, 36%, and independents or other parties, 26%.
The national numbers show that age, gender and ethnicity play a role in the acceptance of early voting. The younger the registered voter, the less likely he/she is to use early voting. It may also prove to be the case that the turnout from younger voters will be lower as well, but for now it is clear only that they do not favor early voting methods in the same way that older Americans do.
Individuals ages 41 to 65 account for 39% of early voting by whatever means. The numbers are similar for the over-65 crowd, where 36% of the early voting totals are linked to seniors.
More women are voting early than men. Non-Hispanic whites and Non-Hispanic Blacks dominate at a combined 87% level of national early votes. Asian and Hispanic Americans, along with Native Americans and those who list ethnicity in multiple categories, were a small percentage of those using early voting as of Nov. 2.
Early voting isn’t new, but when it began, how it took root and how it expanded varies from state to state. According to the U.S. Election Project, 47 states now offer some form of early in-person voting. The three states that do not are Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire. In the states that do allow it, processes vary as to length of time it is available and use of weekends and, especially, Sundays.
New Jersey did not have early in-person voting for any prior presidential election, so the results now are part of a new phenomenon. One thing is clear: By the time the first numbers are reported after the polls close on Election Day, a sizable percentage of the vote will be immediately known.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
