With six days to go until the presidential election, more than 44 million people have already cast their ballots, either early or absentee, according to New York Times figures.

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In 2020, Joe Biden became the most voted Democrat in US history by receiving more than 81 million votes (51.3% of the votes recorded); however, Kamala Harris could surpass this historic record in the 2024 election.

The Democratic candidates with the most votes in history

Following Joe Biden’s more than 81 million votes is former President Barack Obama, who in the 2008 election received 69.5 million votes (52.9% of the registered votes); while in third place is Hillary Clinton in 2016, with more than 65.8 million votes, or 48.2% of the registered votes.

Hillary Clinton’s case is somewhat unique, as the Democrat received a larger number of popular votes than her opponent, Donald Trump, who received 62.9 million popular votes. However, due to the US electoral system, Trump rose to the presidency because he won in key states, which gave him a larger number of electoral college votes.

Clinton won 227 electoral votes, while Trump won 307. This is how she became president of the United States in 2016. For a candidate to win the presidency, he must win the minimum majority of electoral college votes, which are 270. In 2020, the Democrats regained the White House with 306 electoral college votes for Biden over Trump’s 232.

It isn’t a surprise that more recent elections have garnered more voters. The US electorate has grown by tens of millions of people over the last few decades.