Nearly 40% of Florida voters have cast early ballots ahead of general election

As of Monday, nearly 5.4 million ballots have been cast in Florida's general election through mail or early voting locations, representing about 38 percent of the state's 13.7 million registered voters, WUSF reported.

Registered Republicans hold a lead of approximately 131,000 votes over registered Democrats, despite Democrats casting ballots at a higher rate. Democrats have cast 49 percent of their registered voters' ballots, while Republicans have cast 38.2 percent, according to the Division of Elections.

Republicans have a 1.5 million voter registration advantage statewide. They cast about 1.5 million early votes in person and nearly 679,000 mail ballots. Democrats cast about 1.2 million early votes in person and 832,000 mail ballots.

Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried noted high Democratic turnout in every county, expressing optimism about Election Day. Meanwhile, Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds anticipated strong Republican turnout on Election Day.

Among the state's 3.3 million voters without party affiliation, 31 percent have voted early. Florida Republicans have controlled the state Legislature since 1996 and the governor's mansion since 1999, but only surpassed Democrats in voter registration in 2021.