Voters marked the end of an election like no other at the polls on Tuesday.
Americans cast a record number of ballots despite a global pandemic that has upended long-established election procedures and triggered hundreds of lawsuits.
At least 98.8 million people had already voted before Election Day, about 71 percent of the nearly 139 million ballots cast during the 2016 presidential election, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
Lines already extended by social-distancing rules could get worse if large numbers of voters who requested a mail ballot show up at the polls after deciding they would rather vote in person.
In some states, those voters will be required to cast a provisional ballot — one that ultimately will be counted if the voter is eligible and did not previously vote. They also warned that isolated incidents of voter intimidation were possible given the level of political rancor this year, but that safeguards are in place and voters should not be concerned about casting a ballot in person.
