Americans are setting records this year for early voting before Election Day, including participation from Republicans who appear to be responding positively to statements from former President Donald Trump, who affirmed that early voting is a good option.

Tens of states have opened early voting sites with strong turnout, in Georgia, the number of voters surpassed 1.6 million by mid-morning on Tuesday, which equates to about a third of the total votes cast before four years ago.

In North Carolina, the number of voters reached 1.4 million on the sixth day of early voting.

In Nevada, early voting sites have seen higher participation from Republicans compared to Democrats, a shift from trends in previous elections.

According to the Washington Post, more than 20 million Americans have cast their votes so far this year, either by mail or in person, accounting for over 10% of the total early voting participants from four years ago.

However, the question remains whether this strong momentum in participation will continue, and how it will be affected by changing voting patterns following the surge in mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Republican turnout appears to reflect a change in Trump’s stance on early voting; after criticizing it in 2020 and deeming it vulnerable to fraud, he has begun to support it strongly during his current campaign.

In a speech on October 15 in Atlanta, as early voting began in Georgia, Trump urged his supporters to submit their ballots immediately or to head to the polls as soon as possible.

His previous negative stance has impacted Republican participation rates in early and mail-in voting, and some have linked this to lower turnout and losses for the party in certain areas, including the runoff elections in Georgia in January 2021, which resulted in losing control of the Senate.

In contrast, Democrats have traditionally embraced early voting, as it mitigates the impact of any potential obstacles on Election Day, such as bad weather or illness.

Early voting also helps campaigns allocate their resources more efficiently by directing efforts toward voters who have not yet cast their ballots.

Many Republicans have urged Trump to change his position on early and mail-in voting, in an attempt to compete with Democrats on a level playing field, a stance that seems to be enthusiastically adopted by some in the party currently.