Record turnout as Americans endure long waits to vote early in 2020 election

As voters turn out in record numbers to choose between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, Americans continued to endure hours-long waits to vote early.  A record of 14 million Americans have already voted in the general election, according to an analysis of voting information from the US Elections Project. In key swing states such as Florida more than 2 million voters have already cast their ballots.  “The numbers are pretty staggering for us and the return rates and the polling look good,” Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist in Florida, told Politico. “But there’s just a lot we don’t know.”  In Georgia, residents waited for as long as eight hours to exercise their democratic right. Many took to social media to share their experiences with early voting, noting lines of voters spanning several city blocks or school parking lots.  Political analyst Roland Martin was moved to tears as dozens of voters lined the exterior of a voting center located at a Texas church.  “I’m a grown man, but I have no problem showing this type of emotion because I know what is at stake for our people,” he wrote on Instagram. “I know what Black folks have been through in this country. Voting is not the be-all-to-end-all, but I sure as hell know it is part of the solution”.  Long lines are not the only obstacles voters have faced. Technical glitches have also delayed the process. Voters have also faced barriers to accessing their ballots, including computer problems in some precincts as well as legal challenges in places throughout the US south.  In Georgia, whose Republican administration has fought accusations of voter suppression, residents reported technical problems that initially slowed voting, including at one voting center in Atlanta.  Democrats have made a push for the traditionally red state in recent weeks, insisting Georgia is competitive. Nearly 750,000 votes have been cast thus far.  Authorities in Virginia are investigating a voter registration portal that crashed on Tuesday. Officials have so far ruled a cable that was cut an accident, but the glitch shut down the entire system on the last day to register. A Virginia court has since extended the voter registration deadline to 15 October.  Both parties have steered their supporters toward mail-in and early voting due to a surge in cases of coronavirus in many states across the nation, amid a pandemic that is not under control. Worrying case rises are being experienced in battleground states including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Before, health experts had warned that large crowds on election day could worsen the health risks.  But in an effort to stifle early voting in key battleground states, Republican governors and legislators have launched legal challenges to everything from ballot drop-off locations and quantity of sites, to submission and counting deadlines.  On Monday, a Texas appeals court upheld an executive order by Governor Greg Abbott l