60 mn cast early votes in US; Harris, Trump in tight contest in Georgia, NC

With just a few days to go for the United States elections, a staggering 61.0 million Americans have already made their voices heard by casting their ballots in the November election, according to a report by CNN.

Notably, voters have cast their ballots either by mail or through early in-person voting for the presidential elections between Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat and former President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Meanwhile, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS, the presidential race is heating up in Georgia and North Carolina, with the latest polls showing a neck-and-neck contest between Harris and Trump.

Likely voters in Georgia divide 48 per cent for Trump to 47 per cent for Harris, and in North Carolina, Harris stands at 48 per cent to Trump's 47 per cent, CNN reported.

These narrow margins are within the poll's margin of error, indicating no clear frontrunner in either state.

It is interesting to note that North Carolina, which supported former President Barack Obama in 2008, has voted Republican in the past three presidential elections. However, in 2020, Trump won against US President Joe Biden.

Joe Biden made history in Georgia four years ago by defeating Donald Trump with a margin of less than 1 percentage point, becoming the first Democrat to win the state since Bill Clinton's victory in 1992.

In both states, Georgia and North Carolina, Harris is leading among the Black likely voters (84 per cent to 13 per cent in Georgia; 78 per cent to 19 per cent in North Carolina) and voters with college degrees (55 per cent to 39 per cent in Georgia; 53 per cent to 42 per cent in North Carolina).

On the other hand, white college graduates divide around evenly in both states (50 per cent Harris to 47 per cent Trump in North Carolina, 48 per cent Trump to 46 per cent Harris in Georgia). Trump holds a commanding lead, 81 per cent to 15 per cent, among White voters without college degrees in Georgia. He leads that group by a less overwhelming margin, 65 per cent to 31 per cent, in North Carolina, CNN reported.