With 13 days to go until Election Day, and President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden racing toward Nov. 3, voters are turning out in record numbers to cast their ballots early.
Roughly 43 million Americans have already voted in the 2020 election, reflecting an extraordinary level of participation and interest despite unprecedented barriers brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
In the final weeks of campaigning, the president remains on defense as his approval rating drags. He's hosting rallies this week mostly in states he won in 2016 including Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.
Biden, maintaining a lead in national polls -- his largest of the election, according to FiveThirtyEight's average -- has no public events on his schedule this week so far ahead of Thursday's final presidential debate with Trump. Staying off the trail ahead of debates is a pattern for the former vice president.
Polls indicate a huge pre-Election Day edge for Biden and a sizable Trump advantage among those who plan to vote on Nov. 3 itself. Trump has sowed doubt in the mail-in ballot process -- and imminent election results -- for months.
The rhetoric between candidates is expected to heat up ahead of their second and final showdown in Nashville.
All 50 states plus Washington, D.C., currently have some form of early voting underway. Check out FiveThirtyEight’s guide to voting during the COVID-19 pandemic here.
Here is how the day is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Oct 21, 2020, 12:00 PM EDT
Early voting turnout shatters records, more than 40 million cast
With less than two weeks until Election Day, early voting continues to hit record numbers across the country.
More than 40 million votes have already been cast and at least 84 million ballots have been requested in the 2020 general election, according to the United States Elections Project, spearheaded by University of Florida political expert Michael McDonald.
At this point in 2016, 5.6 million votes had been cast.
Residents wait in line to vote in the Midtown neighborhood on Oct. 20, 2020, in Milwaukee. Today is the first day of early voting in Wisconsin, which is considered a battleground state for the 2020 presidential election.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
The unprecedented early voting numbers can be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic as well as an increase in voter interest. Voters are more eager to cast a ballot ahead of Election Day where polling sites could be viewed as overcrowded during pandemic standards.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh
Oct 21, 2020, 11:15 AM EDT
More than 75,000 votes cast in-person in Wisconsin's 1st day of early voting
Early in-person voting continues in Wisconsin after a record first day with 75,519 votes being cast Tuesday and some voters showing up to their polling sites before dawn with folding chairs, snacks and medication to stand in line.
People wait in line to cast their ballots outside Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building on the first day of in-person early voting for the Nov. 3, 2020 elections in Milwaukee, Wis., on Oct. 20, 2020.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
The early voting period in Wisconsin lasts through Oct. 30, though the schedule is different in every municipality and is expected to bring a surge of absentee ballots in a state already boasting strong turnout: As of this morning, Wisconsin voters have cast nearly 40% of the total votes counted in the state in 2016.
Because Wisconsin voters fill out absentee ballots in-person, election clerks in the state won't start counting these votes until Election Day, so the timing of the results could vary depending on the staff available to each municipality.
A man casts his ballot at the Washington Park Library on the first day of in-person early voting for the Nov.3, 2020 elections in Milwaukee, Oct. 20, 2020.
In Madison, the City Clerk said 6,000 poll workers are signed up, compared with 3,000 for the 2016 election, and they "do not anticipate running any later than usual." Meanwhile, over in Milwaukee, the chair of the Milwaukee Democrats has been telling voters they should be prepared to wait until Nov. 11 so that people aren't concerned by delays.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Oct 21, 2020, 10:31 AM EDT
Trump campaign trailing behind Biden in funding, new filings show
Trump's reelection campaign committee is entering the critical final stretch with just $63 million left in the bank -- a significant financial deficit for the incumbent compared to his cash-flushed challenger, Biden, the latest campaign disclosure reports show.
The sum was a stunning reversal for a campaign that in the spring boasted $180 million more on hand than Biden and Democrats as the former vice president was coming out of a competitive primary.
Seven months later, Biden's campaign committee closed out September with $177 million in the bank, which is nearly triple his rival's total.
President Donald Trump waves after participating in an NBC News Town Hall, at Perez Art Museum Miami, Oct. 15, 2020, in Miami.
Evan Vucci/AP
Trump's money supply also reflects how dramatically his fundraising is withering.
In all, the president's campaign, the RNC and their joint committees raised a total of $248 million in September and ended the month with $251 million on hand, compared with the $325 million they had at the end of August.
The Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committee and their joint operations in comparison, raised a total of $364.5 million in September and entered the crucial last month of the race with $432 million on hand, which is nearly twice as much as Trump and Republicans.
-ABC News’ Will Steakin, Kendall Karson and Soo Rin Kim
Oct 21, 2020, 9:49 AM EDT
Biden campaign deploys Obama, other top surrogates as candidate preps for final debate
Biden's absence on the trail ahead of his final debate clash with Trump has drawn criticism from Republicans, who have sought to cast the nominee as "hiding in his basement." But it also gives Democrats a chance to highlight an array of voices who could help them juice turnout in key battleground states in the waning days of the campaign.
One of those key figures, former President Barack Obama, is set to make his first in-person campaign appearance for Biden this cycle at a drive-in event in Philadelphia this evening, an appearance where he is expected to highlight the historic stakes of this election, emphasize the urgency of voting early and speak directly to Black men, amid signs that Biden is underperforming in that demographic. He will also discuss the importance of down-ballot races, according to an Obama aide.
President Barack Obama listens to Vice President Joe Biden deliver remarks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Dec.13, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE
Biden's wife, Dr. Jill Biden, has headlined roughly 25 events in eight battleground states in October -- including Florida, Georgia and Texas -- in addition to a steady flow of virtual events. Douglas Emhoff, Harris' husband, has also hit a diverse slate of over a dozen battleground states this month, with many events centered around early voting.
And several of Biden's former Democratic rivals have also hit the trail to stump for the ticket, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Andrew Yang and Pete Buttigieg holding events across battlegrounds states on behalf of Biden and Harris.
In the days leading up to the debate, Biden's team of surrogates have zeroed in on the make-or-break Rust Belt states of the Midwest, with both Jill Biden and Buttigieg making trips to Michigan ahead of the debate, and Sanders expected to join the list of surrogates stumping in Pennsylvania on Sunday.
The strategy, some Democrats say, is one way to reinforce the idea of a united front in the final days of a bruising campaign that has seen the Republican incumbent seek to create cracks in Biden's coalition.
