Over 53 million Americans cast early ballots ahead of next week's election

More than 53 million Americans have cast early ballots ahead of next week's national election, according to data.

The University of Florida's Election Lab reported on Tuesday that 53,460,802 people cast their votes early via in-person voting and mail-in ballots.

Over 27 million people have gone into polling stations to vote, while 25.6 others have voted via mail.

Just over 700,000 more Democrats than Republicans — 10,217,524 to 9,479,998 — have voted early.

About 6.1 million others not affiliated with either major party have also done so.

Swing states showdown

According to polls, Trump and Harris are locked in a very tight race, especially in swing states, including Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Battleground states are pivotal because the US does not directly elect its presidents. Instead, the process plays out via the Electoral College where 538 representatives cast their ballots in line with their states' outcomes.

Either candidate needs to secure 270 Electoral College votes to claim victory. Electors are allocated to states based on their population, and most states give all of their electors to whichever candidate wins the state in the general vote.

The winner-take-all model is not followed in Nebraska and Maine, however, which instead allocate their votes proportionally based on their outcomes.