More than 51 million Americans cast early ballots ahead of next week's presidential election

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) – More than 51 million Americans have cast early ballots ahead of next week's national election, according to data published Tuesday.

The University of Florida's Election Lab reported that 51,354,949 people cast their votes early via in-person voting and mail-in ballots. Roughly 26.8 million people have gone into polling stations to vote while 24.6 others have voted via mail.

Just over 800,000 more Democrats than Republicans -- 9,892,219 to 9,048,267 -- have voted early. About 6.1 million others not affiliated with either major party have also done so.

The Nov. 5 election is seven days away, and polling indicates that Vice President Kamala Harris, and her Republican challenger, Donald Trump, are locked in a dead heat, particularly in the seven critical battleground states.

In Michigan, Harris is leading Trump by 5%, according to a survey released Tuesday by Susquehanna University Polling and Research. Harris holds 51.7% support, compared to Trump’s 46.6%.

Harris also holds a narrow 1% lead in Arizona -- 48% to 47%, but the situation is reversed in neighboring Nevada where Trump is ahead 48% to Harris' 47%, according to CNN's polling data.

Battleground states are pivotal because the US does not directly elect its presidents. Instead, the process plays out via the Electoral College where 538 representatives cast their ballots in line with their states’ outcomes.

Either candidate needs to secure 270 Electoral College votes to claim victory. Electors are allocated to states based on their population, and most states give all of their electors to whichever candidate wins the state in the general vote.

The winner-take-all model is not followed in Nebraska and Maine, however, which instead allocate their votes proportionally based on their outcomes.