It's happening the way it's supposed to happen. Voters are voting -- smashing records, adjusting behaviors and recalibrating expectations -- in ways that show the nation is many things, but definitely not apathetic.

It's also happening in ways that will stress the systems built to account for it all. More early votes, oddly, will mean reporting out results will take longer in several critical states -- to say nothing of the continuing challenges of participating in and administering an election in the midst of a pandemic.

Amid a flurry of COVID-era campaigning in battleground states, this week brought new high-water marks that suggest turnout records will fall this year.

Nearly as many Texans have voted as in all of 2016, with Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona are among the states already three-quarters of the way there, according to the United States Elections Project at the University of Florida.

But this week also brought continued uncertainties about the process of voting. The Supreme Court now has nine justices again, and voters in states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina have a right to be confused about what the law is when it comes to how to vote -- and even what those laws might be on Election Day and beyond.

Layered on top of all of that are the efforts by President Trump to sow doubts about the integrity of the election.

From the local level on up, election officials say they're confident that there will be an accurate -- and, hopefully, promptly tallied -- vote count. But the surge of voting, while good for democracy, figures to make everything more difficult during this most difficult of times for the country.

-ABC News’ Political Director Rick Klein

At his first of two stops in Arizona on Friday, Vice President Mike Pence threw his support behind congressional candidates and told Arizonans to elect them so House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., can be removed from her post.

"So right after you reelect President Donald Trump for four more years and right after you reelect Sen. Martha McSally to the United States Senate, we all need you to send Paul Gosar, Congressman Markwayne Mullin and Tiffany Shedd to a new Republican majority in the House of Representatives, and retire Nancy Pelosi once and for all. Out! She has got to go," Pence said at the outdoor rally in Flagstaff.

That caused some supporters to chant "lock her up!"

Mullin, it should be noted, is not on the ballot in Arizona, but represents Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District.

McSally, who is competing in one of the most-watched Senate campaigns this cycle, introduced Pence. The vice president said it was "an honor" to share the stage with her, and that she has "emerged as one of the greatest champions" for Republicans.

On the coronavirus, Pence said that a vaccine is "just a short time away." He acknowledged that COVID-19 cases are increasing in the state, which reported 1,565 new cases Friday.

"And as we see cases rise, particularly across the heartland and even somewhat here in Arizona," he told of the crowd of about 500, the majority of whom were not wearing masks or social distancing. "I want to assure you, we're going to continue to move heaven and earth to make sure that our doctors and nurses, and here in Arizona and everywhere in America, that every family has access to the health care that we'd want any member of our family to have."  

-ABC News' Justin Gomez