The November general election is 15 days away, and yet more than 904,000 Americans already have cast their ballots. Almost 60 percent of those have been cast in Florida, according to the Associated Press.
And for those who haven't mailed in a ballot in yet in Pinellas or Polk counties, early voting began at polling places Monday.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate (and ex-governor) Charlie Crist took advantage of early voting Monday, casting his ballot at the Pinellas County government center in downtown St. Petersburg.
Governor Rick Scott attended an early-voting event in Orlando Monday but did not cast a ballot.
Meanwhile, in Hillsborough County, more than 50,000 ballots have been sent in by mail. The party split is close, according to the Supervisor of Elections Office: 19,000 Democrats have mailed in ballots and 22,000 Republicans. Early voting in Hillsborough, along with Citrus County, begins Thursday.
Early voting starts Saturday in Pasco, Hernando and Manatee counties.
The numbers mail-in ballots are climbing daily as more voters sent in their votes ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
Early voting doesn't predict electoral outcomes, but both major parties emphasized the opportunity in recent elections as they try to lock in core supporters. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia allow some form of advance voting other than traditional absentee voting requiring an excuse.
Voters can cast a ballot at any early voting site during the early voting period, but if they wait until Election Day, they will have to go to their assigned precincts.
Early voting begins today:
Early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 23:
Early voting begins Saturday, Oct. 25: