As the final sprint approaches, over 46 million early voters have already cast their ballots.

• As of Tuesday morning, nearly 25% of the electorate had already cast their ballots in the 2024 election, with over 46 million Americans having voted, according to NBC News' tracker.
• This election cycle, records for early voter turnout are being set in states such as North Carolina and Georgia.
• Early voting data can offer indications of possible trends and measure voter excitement, but it does not accurately forecast Election Day results.

As of Tuesday morning, over 46 million Americans have voted in the 2024 election, which accounts for more than a quarter of the expected voter turnout, according to NBC News' tracker.

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have urged voters to cast their ballots as early as possible.

Early voting has commenced in seven battleground states, as well as numerous others, with just one week remaining until the Nov. 5 election. Social media is already abuzz with reports of lengthy lines outside polling stations, as voters flock to the limited number of municipal spaces set up for early voting.

Nearly 20 million Americans have opted to mail in their ballots, while another 20 million have cast their ballots in person, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab.

This election cycle, records for early voter turnout are being set in key presidential battlegrounds such as North Carolina and Georgia.

In North Carolina, 353,166 ballots were accepted on the first day of early voting on Oct. 17, surpassing the 2020 first-day record, according to preliminary State Board of Elections data. As of Tuesday, more than 2.7 million votes had been cast across the state, according to NBC News.

On the first day of early voting, Georgia surpassed its previous record with an estimated 310,000 ballots cast. By Tuesday, approximately 2.9 million ballots had been received.

The high voter turnout is putting a strain on America's early voting system, which has a limited number of workers and polling locations compared to Election Day.

Early voting provides Americans with more convenient options for casting their ballots on Election Day, while also allowing election officials to begin processing or counting votes in some states.

The enactment of elections and voting laws is the responsibility of individual states, resulting in a diverse system of election management across the nation.

In Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada, ballots can be counted before November 5th, whereas in Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, counting must wait until Election Day.

According to the Associated Press, two-thirds of the ballots cast in the 2020 election were early votes.

The large number of votes, over 100 million, was mainly due to the distinctive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on American civic activities.

Early voting data can offer insights into voter behavior and enthusiasm, but it does not accurately forecast Election Day results.