Early voting for the 2024 U.S. presidential election kicked off Friday in Virginia, Minnesota, and South Dakota, as both Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic contender Kamala Harris ramped up their efforts to sway undecided voters. The race between the two remains razor-thin, with every vote expected to play a critical role.
In Arlington, Virginia, voters lined up to cast their ballots, with both “Harris-Walz” and “Trump-Vance” supporters seen outside the polling station. Michelle Kilkenny, 55, expressed her enthusiasm, stating, “Voting early, especially on day one, helps boost the campaign’s energy.”
Trump, 78, has a history of criticizing early and mail-in voting, particularly after his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, a defeat he falsely attributed to mail-in ballots. Despite his skepticism, his campaign has since promoted early voting.
The former president, currently facing legal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, remains locked in a close contest with Harris, who took over as the Democratic candidate from Biden in July. While Harris has erased Trump’s lead, the race is still neck-and-neck.
Harris campaigned in Atlanta, Georgia, a key battleground state, focusing on reproductive rights, an issue she believes could be a vulnerability for Trump, particularly after his role in appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned the national right to abortion in 2022.
Harris highlighted the impact of restrictive abortion laws, including the deaths of two women in Georgia, and met with the family of one of the women at a star-studded event hosted by Oprah Winfrey.
Meanwhile, Trump adopted a more somber tone at an anti-Semitism event in Washington, where he suggested Jewish voters might be responsible for his potential loss, given their historical support for Democrats.
As the candidates intensify their outreach, the race remains highly competitive, with swing states like Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina expected to be decisive in the election outcome.
