More than 57 million US voters have already cast their ballots in the 2024 election, breaking records in some states and leading both sides to hope it gives them an edge — even as experts warn the data is difficult to interpret, AFP reports.

Opinion polls show Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump running neck-and-neck, including in the seven battleground states that often decide close US elections.

Harris’s campaign has encouraged early voting, with her running mate Tim Walz, President Joe Biden, and former president Barack Obama all having already cast their ballots.

Trump had earlier cast scepticism — without proof — over the fairness of early voting, but has since embraced it, encouraging his supporters to cast ballots whenever suits them. As of Thursday, around 62 million people had cast votes early, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the total vote count in 2020.

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