This year, some 239 million individuals have cast their votes. In some states, the mail-in ballots may take days or weeks to be counted-meaning a winner could not be announced in the hours after Tuesday’s polls close.

The new US early voting count reveals that nearly 102 million Americans cast their ballots before Election Day, an eye-popping total reflecting 73 of the 2016 presidential election’s total turnout.

The Associated Press count shows that the early vote has already surpassed the cumulative vote of four years ago in many states, including fiercely contested Texas and Arizona. During the COVID-19 pandemic, early voting, whether in person or by mail-in or absentee ballot, swelled as voters sought the protection and comfort it provides. Kentucky, where almost 13 times as many voters cast their ballots early as in 2016, has made the greatest gains.

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Earlier in the day, Americans were seen voting in significant numbers in one of the most bitterly divisive presidential elections in decades in which Democrat Joe Biden challenged incumbent Republican Donald Trump. This year, some 239 million individuals are registered to vote. It may take days or weeks for mail-in ballots to be counted in some states, meaning a winner might not be announced in the hours after polls close on Tuesday.

By capturing all five votes of a tiny New Hampshire town that’s always swift to announce its outcome, Biden pocketed his first election victory. The result on the US-Canada border in Dixville Notch was announced just after midnight on Tuesday, marking 60 years since the tradition started. Meanwhile, President Trump won 16 votes in Millsfield, 20 kilometers to the south, against Biden’s five.