More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US&nbsp;presidential election with seven days to go, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century, according to data from the US&nbsp;Elections Project on Monday.

The tally is the latest sign of intense interest in the contest between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, as well as voters’ desire to reduce their risk of exposure to COVID-19, which has killed about 225,000 people across the United States.

EARLY VOTING IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Early voting also known as advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenient voting process for citizens to cast their vote prior to the scheduled election day. For the United States America, early voting is similar to absentee voting and the pre-polling period varies from state-to-state. &nbsp;

The process of early voting was introduced for Americans living outside the country and for the members of the military, merchant marine, and their families. American citizens have a varied option to vote early. Ballots, mail, fax, email and even on web portals. But since the beginning of the 2020 election cycle and the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, mail-in voting has suddenly become a subject of controversy.

WHAT IS MAIL-IN VOTING?

Americans have been voting by mail in the U.S. For close to a hundred years now, but it has never been an issue as it in the 2020 election. And there are two reasons for this. &nbsp;

The numbers of voters who vote early has increased in recent years and with the pandemic casting a shadow over the presidential polls, the democrats have pushed for citizens to vote by mail. With the election day inching closer, the early voter turnout is breaking records almost every day. In the 2016 presidential election, approximately 33 million votes were cast via mailed out ballots. Which makes for about a quarter of all ballots cast across the country.

And 2020 is witnessing a staggering increase in the early voter turnout, even in states which didn’t usually use mail-in voting. &nbsp;

The second reason for the mail-in ballot voting becoming an issue is the president of the United States Donald Trump. Trump and his team have repeatedly been claiming that the widespread mail-in voting will inevitably lead to "Fraud”. They're very little evidence for that. But despite trump's unsubstantiated claims, the number people running out to voter early is historic this year. &nbsp;With a highly polarised election inching towards its end, all hopes lie on the vote count &amp; result announcement. &nbsp;

More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US presidential election with seven days to go, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century, according to data from the US Elections Project on Monday.

More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US presidential election with seven days to go, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century, according to data from the US Elections Project on Monday. The tally is the latest sign of intense interest in the contest between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, as well as voters’ desire to reduce their risk of exposure to COVID-19, which has killed about 225,000 people across the United States. EARLY VOTING IN AMERICAN POLITICS Early voting also known as advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenient voting process for citizens to cast their vote prior to the scheduled election day. For the United States America, early voting is similar to absentee voting and the pre-polling period varies from state-to-state. The process of early voting was introduced for Americans living outside the country and for the members of the military, merchant marine, and their families. American citizens have a varied option to vote early. Ballots, mail, fax, email and even on web portals. But since the beginning of the 2020 election cycle and the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, mail-in voting has suddenly become a subject of controversy. WHAT IS MAIL-IN VOTING? Americans have been voting by mail in the U.S. For close to a hundred years now, but it has never been an issue as it in the 2020 election. And there are two reasons for this. The numbers of voters who vote early has increased in recent years and with the pandemic casting a shadow over the presidential polls, the democrats have pushed for citizens to vote by mail. With the election day inching closer, the early voter turnout is breaking records almost every day. In the 2016 presidential election, approximately 33 million votes were cast via mailed out ballots. Which makes for about a quarter of all ballots cast across the country. And 2020 is witnessing a staggering increase in the early voter turnout, even in states which didn’t usually use mail-in voting. The second reason for the mail-in ballot voting becoming an issue is the president of the United States Donald Trump. Trump and his team have repeatedly been claiming that the widespread mail-in voting will inevitably lead to "Fraud”. They're very little evidence for that. But despite trump's unsubstantiated claims, the number people running out to voter early is historic this year. With a highly polarised election inching towards its end, all hopes lie on the vote count & result announcement.

US election 2020: The controversy behind early voting

Twitter said late on Wednesday it plans to expand its rules against misinformation regarding mail-in ballots and early voting in the US&nbsp;elections this year.

The move, reported earlier by Politico and confirmed by a Twitter executive, will involve coming up with new policies "that emphasise accurate information about all available options to vote, including by mail and early voting."

"Ahead of the 2020 US&nbsp;Election, we're focused on empowering every eligible person to register and vote through partnerships, tools and new policies," Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, Twitter's vice president for public policy in the Americas, told Reuters in an email.

The social media platform also said it would roll out measures on new tools, policies, and voting resources in the next month.

Twitter said it is exploring how to expand its "civic integrity policies" to address mischaracterizations of mail-in voting and other procedures, including registration. The finer details of the step are still being finalised.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that voting by mail, which is expected to increase dramatically this fall due to coronavirus outbreak, is susceptible to large-scale fraud.

Voting by mail is not new in the United States — nearly one in four voters cast 2016 presidential ballots that way.

Routine methods and the decentralized nature of U.S. elections make it very hard to interfere with mailed ballots, experts say.

Late last month, Facebook Inc placed a "voting info" label on a post by Trump that said mail-in voting would lead to a "CORRUPT ELECTION."&nbsp;

Twitter said late on Wednesday it plans to expand its rules against misinformation regarding mail-in ballots and early voting in the US elections this year. The move, reported earlier by Politico and confirmed by a Twitter executive, will involve coming up with new policies "that emphasise accurate information about all available options to vote, including by mail and early voting.

Twitter said late on Wednesday it plans to expand its rules against misinformation regarding mail-in ballots and early voting in the US elections this year. The move, reported earlier by Politico and confirmed by a Twitter executive, will involve coming up with new policies "that emphasise accurate information about all available options to vote, including by mail and early voting." "Ahead of the 2020 US Election, we're focused on empowering every eligible person to register and vote through partnerships, tools and new policies," Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, Twitter's vice president for public policy in the Americas, told Reuters in an email. The social media platform also said it would roll out measures on new tools, policies, and voting resources in the next month. Twitter said it is exploring how to expand its "civic integrity policies" to address mischaracterizations of mail-in voting and other procedures, including registration. The finer details of the step are still being finalised. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that voting by mail, which is expected to increase dramatically this fall due to coronavirus outbreak, is susceptible to large-scale fraud. Voting by mail is not new in the United States — nearly one in four voters cast 2016 presidential ballots that way. Routine methods and the decentralized nature of U.S. elections make it very hard to interfere with mailed ballots, experts say. Late last month, Facebook Inc placed a "voting info" label on a post by Trump that said mail-in voting would lead to a "CORRUPT ELECTION."

Twitter to expand rules against misinformation on mail-in ballots, early voting

As many as 35 million people have already voted in the US elections 2016 under the early voting provision of American democratic system, days before Tuesday&#39;s presidential election.

This is a record that surpasses the 2012 voting in the presidential elections which saw 32.3 million people choosing to exercise&nbsp;their franchise in advance, PTI reported.

An&nbsp;early-voting expert, Michael McDonald, said that many states have either already set records for early voting or exceeded their 2012 turnout. For instance, Texas recorded a 36 per cent&nbsp;rise in early voting from what it saw four years ago.

Voters this year have become familiar with the positions of Republican nominee Donald Trump and his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton owing to their&nbsp;aggressive campaigning and thus believe that they are ready to take a decision.

The country marked 29.7 per cent of the total votes being cast before election day in 2008. The percentage stands at 31.6 this year.

The figure is expected to go up to 35 per cent.

&quot;People have been very attentive to this election. They know the candidates and they have weighed those candidates, and they are now making their choice. It&#39;s becoming evident that people are voting at higher rates early because they have that large amount of information and they?re confident making their choice,&quot; PTI reported McDonald as saying.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

Voters have become familiar with the positions of Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton thanks to their campaigns

As many as 35 million people have already voted in the US elections 2016 under the early voting provision of American democratic system, days before Tuesday's presidential election. This is a record that surpasses the 2012 voting in the presidential elections which saw 32.3 million people choosing to exercise their franchise in advance, PTI reported. An early-voting expert, Michael McDonald, said that many states have either already set records for early voting or exceeded their 2012 turnout. For instance, Texas recorded a 36 per cent rise in early voting from what it saw four years ago. Voters this year have become familiar with the positions of Republican nominee Donald Trump and his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton owing to their aggressive campaigning and thus believe that they are ready to take a decision. The country marked 29.7 per cent of the total votes being cast before election day in 2008. The percentage stands at 31.6 this year. The figure is expected to go up to 35 per cent. "People have been very attentive to this election. They know the candidates and they have weighed those candidates, and they are now making their choice. It's becoming evident that people are voting at higher rates early because they have that large amount of information and they?re confident making their choice," PTI reported McDonald as saying. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Early voting in 2016 US presidential polls breaks 2012 record