This record-breaking number is equal to 69% of the entire voter turnout for the 2016 election.

This year’s huge increase in mail-in and early in-person voting was largely prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 230,000 people in the US.

National polls continue to show Biden leading Trump, by about 8 to 10 points. But the race is still a toss-up in the battleground states including Arizona, Florida and North Carolina.

The US is tightening security amid heightened concerns about possible violence following the election.