More than 29 million Americans have already made their choice for the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Early voting has taken off across most of the U.S. with the addition Tuesday of key swing state Wisconsin just as residents there are coping with a record number of coronavirus cases.

Many U.S. voters are facing long lines due in part to a massive turnout amid the COVID-19 pandemic and limited polling sites.

NBC News reports more than 14 million of the ballots have come from Democratic-affiliated voters, while some 10 million are from Republican-affiliated voters.

Election experts expect voter turnout this year to break previous records, but it's too early to tell if there will be a Republican 'wave' of voters on Election Day or if this early voting surge would have happened without the COVID-19 pandemic.

Texas is dominating early voting so far. As of Tuesday, more than 4.6 million Texans have voted, according to the U.S. Elections Project.
That's more than half of the ballots counted for the 2016 presidential election, Fox News reports.

The state also saw a jump in voter registration this year. According to the Texas secretary of state, 17 million people became new voters in Texas. An increase of almost 2 million compared to 2016.

On Monday, Florida broke its record for the opening day of early-voting. Considered a critical battleground state to watch in the election, at least 350,000 voters cast their ballots.

Republicans had a slight lead in voter turnout for the first day of in-person voting in Florida.
43% of Monday’s voters were registered Republicans and 42% were registered Democrats, according to the Hill. 
Overall, voter turnout in Florida grew by almost 17% compared to the 2016 election.

Georgia also saw a surge in early voting compared to 2016. Based off state data, with almost 1.7 million people voting, turnout jumped 142% in the first eight days compared to the same time four years ago.

As millions of votes come in across the U.S., it's unclear how long it will take to count them all, which means a clear winner might not be decided by the end of the night on November 3rd.

The process for receiving and counting votes also differs by state. Some have already received extensions for receiving and counting votes to accommodate for the pandemic. 

Mail-in ballots have to be postmarked by Election Day but they can be received and counted late in some states. 

For example in Washington State, mail-in ballots can be received until November 23rd. But in most states the deadline for receiving ballots is one to two days after the election.

After votes are counted, states must certify their results, which typically takes about two weeks. But if a recount is needed, a state’s deadline can be extended.

Once the election results are certified, the electoral college begins its process of assigning electors and casting votes.

In some states, officials are already counting votes but releasing the results prior to the election is against the law. 

National opinion polls show Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the lead over incumbent President Donald Trump. 

Election experts warn even though voters are showing up in record numbers, opinion polls and voter turnout can't always guarantee a winner.

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