(TNND) — Millions of Americans across the country have already cast a ballot in the 2024 election as several states have opened early voting and seen an enthusiastic response from their electorates, setting records for daily turnout with less than two weeks to go until Nov. 5. More than 28 million people have cast a ballot through mail or by early in-person voting as of Thursday morning, according to data collected by the University of Florida’s Election Lab. That figure is equivalent to 18% of the overall turnout for the 2020 election and a reflection of early enthusiasm to cast a ballot in the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. It is difficult to discern what the initial results of the early voting might mean for both campaigns but reflects an early burst of enthusiasm to cast a ballot. Campaigns on both sides of the aisle have traditionally encouraged their supporters to vote early to “bank” votes and allow them to turn their attention to undecided voters in the closing stretch and avoid potential obstacles on Election Day like long lines, storms or power outages from keeping people from voting. While the overall totals nationwide of early and mail-in voting are expected to be lower than in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was in full force and led to highly increased levels of voting by mail, early turnout records are being broken as Americans have come out in full force to cast a ballot. Some of the states that have set early voting records in the first days it has been opened include crucial battlegrounds that will determine the Electoral College like Georgia and North Carolina, states that were hit hard by Helene and raised concerns about the impact on voter turnout. Both states broke records for the first day of early voting this year. In Georgia, Secretary of State chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling said over a third of the state’s electorate will likely cast a ballot by the end of Thursday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. More than 2 million Georgians have cast a ballot early in person or by mail as of Thursday morning, nearly 44% of the total turnout in 2020. In North Carolina, which saw devastating flooding from Helene that wiped away roads, bridges and brought massive power outages to much of the western part of the state, more than 2 million people had voted early through Wednesday, according to the state’s Board of Elections. Republicans are also expected to eat into Democrats’ advantage in early voting that was significant in the 2020 election with more GOP officials encouraging their supporters to cast their votes early. Not all states report which party a voter is registered to in early voting statistics and an official affiliation does not guarantee they will vote for that party’s candidate, but Democrats so far have an edge in the number of people who have voted early, according to the Election Lab’s data. The Harris campaign and allied Democratic groups have also made significant investments in turning out voters, including getting them to show up early or send ballots by mail ahead of Election Day. Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and former President Barack Obama were in Wisconsin on Tuesday as in-person voting opened in the crucial Midwestern swing state as they tried to maximize turnout in the Democratic stronghold of Madison. “If you haven’t voted yet, I won’t be offended if you just walk out right now — go vote,” Obama said. He also shared he had voted on Monday in Chicago, dropping his ballot off in a mailbox. More than 6 million registered Democrats had voted early as of Thursday, compared to 5.1 million Republicans. But Republicans are showing signs of improvement compared to the last election that may prove beneficial on Election Day. Trump, who frequently decried voting by mail as being rife with fraud without evidence in 2020, has also changed his tune on casting ballots early. He and his campaign have more heavily promoted voting early this time around even with some mixed messaging on the validity of the practice. During appearances in swing states this week, Trump praised voters in each state for setting early voting records. “The thing that amazes me most is areas such as this and others, where it’s so hard to vote,” he said in North Carolina earlier this week. “People have lost their homes. They’ve sometimes lost members of their family. You know, they’ve set a record in voting. Can you believe it?” In Georgia, where Trump is facing state-level charges for efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, he encouraged people to vote “whichever way you want to do it” and noted the early voting records. "The early voting is, people have never seen anything like it," he said during a rally. Stay Connected