Why Biden votes today when US Presidential election is on November 5

The 2024 US Presidential election is scheduled for November 5, but the incumbent leader Joe Biden will cast his vote on Monday (October 28) in Wilmington, Delaware, before returning to the White House.

Delaware is a stronghold of Democrats and Biden served as its senator from 1973 to 2009.

In July, Biden opted out from the race to the White House, succumbing to the mounting pressure from within his own Democratic party. He then endorsed his second-in-command, Vice President Kamala Harris for Democratic candidate to contest against Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Why is Joe Biden voting before November 5?

The White House informed that Biden will cast his early-voting ballot in the presidential election on Monday (October 28).

In the polls in the US, many Americans can opt to vote in advance of the November 5 polling day. Biden has done the same.

Already early voting is underway for many and it can be done either through in-person voting, or through mail-in or absentee ballots.

Early voting for the 2024 US Presidential election started last week.

Harris’ campaign has pushed for Democratic voters to utilise early voting aggressively which is also seen as a tactic to help bank votes ahead of November 5 election day.  

On the other hand, Trump, who has been critical of early voting, along with his campaign and his Republican party have been also pushing voters to cast early ballots.

According to NBC News, till the early hours of October 28, over 42 million (43,440,787) mail-in and early in-person votes have been cast across the US.

Early voting saw a surge in 2020 US Presidential polls, driving a massive increase in overall turnout and helping Biden secure his victory. Early voting was made easier in many states that year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Meanwhile, most polls, till now suggest a tough fight between Trump and Harris with the presidential candidates leading over each other in different election issues like Trump ahead of Harris when it comes to economy, while for gender and women rights, Harris is seeming a clear winner.

With inputs from agencies.

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