Presidential Election 2016 Early Voting Results: Hillary Clinton Could Be In Position To Sweep Swing States, Taking Utah And Arizona As Well

The 2016 presidential election early voting results show that Hillary Clinton is out to a big early lead across a number of key swing states and could also pull off upsets in some traditionally Republican, states including Arizona and Utah.

While Election Day is just a little under two weeks away, millions of Americans have already cast their ballots and evidence shows that it is largely in favor of Hillary Clinton. Democratic voting is up in North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada this year compared to 2012, CNN reported.

The early voting totals are largely in favor of Hillary Clinton across the board. The number of Republican early voters has dropped sharply in Florida compared to 2012, the CNN report note, although the GOP was still up by roughly 5,000 votes in the Sunshine State.

Early voting in #Florida, by mail and in person: pic.twitter.com/EPbrayqZSx

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) October 26, 2016

Though GOP voting is higher in Florida than voting by Democrats, there are still positive signs for Hillary Clinton. Hispanic early voting has increased by 99 percent from 2012, for example.

99% more Florida Latinos have already voted early than at this point in 2012. Join them: https://t.co/cqsal32OB3 https://t.co/WIdCeGUUcu

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 26, 2016

Clinton also appears to be performing well in the North Carolina early voting results, CNN found. Registered Democrats cast 100,000 more votes than registered Republicans in the state so far, which is a bigger edge than in 2012.

We don’t just have polling data now. We have voting data. Here’s what @UpshotNYT says it shows in North Carolina: https://t.co/13VKee3CDj

— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) October 26, 2016

The good news for Clinton extends beyond swing states. Clinton also could be poised to knock off Trump in Arizona, where no Democrat has won in more than 20 years.

“Registered Democrats continue to outpace registered Republicans in early voting,” in Arizona, the report noted. “They’re ahead by 4,116 votes, a major improvement from their position at this time four years ago, when they trailed by 21,179.”

There are even signs that Hillary Clinton could have a shot of flipping Utah, a state that has gone for Republicans for more than 50 years.

“At this point in 2012, Republicans led Democrats in early voting by more than 31,000 voters. But so far this year, the GOP advantage is only 15,834,” the report noted.

There are more states offering early voting options for residents this year, and as FiveThirtyEight noted, it is a boon to Hillary Clinton. Democrats have traditionally benefited from higher turnout in all levels of voting, especially federal races, and early voting makes it easier for residents to cast their ballots.

The 2016 presidential election early voting results might also underscore other advantages Hillary Clinton has in bringing voters to the polls. Clinton has a more sophisticated ground game than Donald Trump with the GOP candidate not bothering to open field offices in a number of key states.

As FiveThirtyEight noted, early voting tends to benefit the better-prepared candidates.

“Well-organized campaigns do have opportunities to capitalize on early voting, however, and this year that could benefit Hillary Clinton, who has a stronger ground game than Donald Trump.”

“It opens up more possibilities for voting, boosting turnout in the long run,” said Mark Stephenson, the CEO of Red Oak Strategic, a political consulting firm in Arlington, Virginia. “But it also gives the campaign tacticians the opportunity to analyze and see what is happening over a longer period of time and be efficient with where spending is going as a result. Both, when done successfully by either party, can provide a real tactical and strategic advantage.”

The early voting results also help Hillary Clinton in the way of timing. She currently holds a comfortable lead in national polling and is winning in nearly every key swing state. By locking in millions of votes now, it allows her to bank an early lead in case anything should happen to change the race. This could help Clinton to sweep the swing states, delivering what would be a blowout defeat to Donald Trump.

But the 2016 presidential election early voting results are not all bad for Donald Trump. He has performed well in the midwest, and so far, Republican voting in Ohio and Iowa is outpacing 2012 levels.

[Featured Image by David Calvert/Getty Images]