How many Americans have voted early so far?

Early voting is exactly what it sounds like - it's where people are allowed to vote before the scheduled election day.

This can be either in-person at early voting stations, or absentee - that is, by post. In-person early voting is common in Finland and Canada, while Switzerland, Germany and the UK accept postal votes.

In the US, this means people are able to cast their ballots before 3 November - either by post or in-person.

Early voting has steadily increased with each election year. The number of people who voted early in the 2016 presidential election was more than five times the number who voted early 24 years earlier, in 1992.

And with the Covid-19 pandemic affecting everything this year, and some form of early voting under way in all 50 states, we're already seeing record numbers of people casting their ballots ahead of time.

Donald Trump is among those who has voted early. He cast his vote in Florida on Saturday morning.

But the process hasn't been universally popular.

So who is voting early, and why? And what do some people have against it? Here's what you need to know.