Walz and Harris’ campaigns are focusing on early voting states as Minnesota reports new numbers

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz campaigned in North Carolina on Thursday alongside former President Bill Clinton to emphasize early voting. North Carolina is among the last of seven key battleground states to begin early voting.

“Answer the doors, get on the phone, talk to your brother and tell him to stop voting the other way,” Walz told supporters in the Raleigh-Durham area.

Walz was campaigning in North Carolina as Minnesota released its new early voting numbers. In the four weeks since September 20, 716,858 absentee and absentee ballots were distributed and 337,633 were cast.

The totals exceed those from the 2016 election but are below the much higher numbers during the 2020 election amid the pandemic.

The final two battleground states that will begin early voting are Wisconsin, which begins Oct. 22, and Michigan, which begins Oct. 26.

Meanwhile, Walz and Donald Trump’s Republican running mate JD Vance traded contradictions from North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Walz claimed that Trump would be a fascist and dictator if re-elected. “So there is a way to stop it,” he said. “We have to vote, win an election and make sure something like this never happens.”

At a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, where early voting is underway, Vance told his crowd of supporters why he feels sorry for Walz.

“Tim Walz must defend the indefensible,” Vance said. “This is Kamala Harris’ record of failed leadership over the last three and a half years.”

Minnesota is among the first states to begin voting. You can vote early until 5:00 p.m. on November 4th, the day before Election Day. However, they had to register to vote by October 15 in order to vote early. You can still register to vote on Election Day.

“We are more than halfway through the election season in Minnesota and now it is time to put a voting plan in place,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. “Minnesotans can vote by absentee ballot, vote early in person and vote in person on Election Day. Starting October 18, many local election offices are offering direct voting, which mimics the Election Day experience by allowing voters to enter their ballots directly into ballot tabulators. Ballots are secure voting equipment that is tested before every election, certified by state and federal election experts, and stored in secure locations.”