Early voting for the US election has kicked off in Florida, a key battleground state that could decide the November 3 presidential election. Many polling sites had long lines before dawn as voters awaited their opening.
With its 29 electoral votes, the state is crucial to both President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
A loss in Florida would make it nearly impossible for Trump to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to retain the White House over Joe Biden.
Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris arrived for a day of campaigning in the state, making an appearance in Orlando.
“I had to come here on the kick-off of early voting in Florida, because you all are going to make it happen,” she told a drive-in event. “You will make it happen. What you will do by early voting is you will be the first to put our country back on the right track.”
“Everything is on the ballot in 2020,” she added.
A record 28m nationwide ballots have been cast ahead of election day on 3 November, as the US remains gripped by Covid-19.
President Trump, running out of time to change the dynamics of a race that opinion polls show him losing, will visit Arizona on Monday. Biden, who campaigned on Sunday in North Carolina, another state that could favor either candidate, will spend the day at his home base in Delaware.
