We’ve been bombarded by campaign ads and endless polls and daily news reports about how the presidential election is shaping up—but it may have already been decided.

More than 75 million American voters have already turned in their ballots. Almost half the entire electorate.

🚀 HOLY MACKEREL PENNSYLVANIA!!!

35%!!!

It is working!!!

But we cannot let up.

We need every Trump supporter to vote TODAY before 4:30PM.

Find your local office and go request an ON DEMAND mail in ballot

SEARCH HERE: https://t.co/QRnWdelfbR pic.twitter.com/RRjw6bbQxW

— Cliff Maloney (@Maloney) October 29, 2024

I’m young enough to remember when election day was a day, and not a month. I am wholly opposed to the Democrats' effort to turn it into a season-long event with mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes on dark street corners. (Aside: there’s a box drop here in Los Angeles not too far from my house where I’m uncomfortable getting out of my car, much less dropping off my vote).

But let’s face it: the progressives managed to change the rules, and it's a waste of time crying over it. Now is the time to use those rules and WIN.

Why it matters: That's over 48% of the total number who voted in 2020 (154.6 million), indicating that early and mail-in voting has become increasingly popular methods to vote and become a new normal in American politics.

• In the 2022 midterms, nearly half of voters chose to do so early, far surpassing pre-pandemic numbers.

By the numbers: In Georgia, more than 4 million have already voted — marking nearly 80% of the state's total 2020 turnout, according to the University of Florida Election Lab's early vote tracker.

• North Carolina's early voting turnout reflects a similar margin — more than 4.4 million have cast their ballots, accounting for 80% of the 2020 count in the battleground state.

And while Republicans have (rightfully) railed against these new rules since the beginning, they are now taking advantage of them. I would argue that while the new reality is still wrong – election day should be election DAY—we’d still be foolish not to fight them on their terms.

• Between the lines: While former President Trump railed against mail-in voting for years, he and the GOP have since encouraged their supporters to vote early (while still challenging certain mail-in voting provisions in courtrooms across the country).

• Of those who have cast their vote so far in states that report party registration data, Democrats hold a slight lead — 37.9% to 36.2% — per UF's count.

So far, the early numbers show strong support for Donald Trump.

I will never forget the devastating feeling I felt on November 4, 2020. I woke up that morning thinking that Donald Trump had won, but instead, we've been subjected to four disastrous years of Biden-Harris. We should feel hopeful about our chances at this moment, but we cannot be cocky. Even though half of all people have voted, half still haven’t. If you‘re one of those, get the heck out there and do the thing.

Vote as if your life depends on it. Because, well, it kind of does.