ARLINGTON: The first early voters cast their ballots on Friday for November’s knife-edge US presidential election, as Democratic candidate Kamala Harris headed for a campaign event focused on the hot-button issue of abortion.

Three states — Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota — started early voting, a practice that Republican nominee Donald Trump has previously cast doubt on when falsely claiming he won the 2020 election.

People waited at an early voting polling station in the centre of Arlington, Virginia, just outside the capital Washington. A number had “Harris-Walz” shirts, while there were also some “Trump-Vance” signs in front of the building.

“I’m excited,” said Michelle Kilkenny, 55, adding that voting early, “especially on day one, helps the campaign and raises the enthusiasm level.”

Most US states permit in-person voting or mail-in voting to allow people to deal with scheduling conflicts or an inability to cast their ballots on election day itself.

Former president Trump has frequently lashed out against anything except on-the-day voting, repeatedly blaming mail-in ballots for his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden — while also sometimes calling early voting into question, despite efforts by his campaign to promote it.

Trump, 78, faces criminal charges for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 result, after which his supporters assaulted the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.

Every vote will count in a desperately close White House race, whose result Trump has once again refused to say he will accept. Harris has erased Trump’s lead since sensationally replacing President Biden as Democratic candidate in July but remains neck-and-neck with the Republican.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2024