Democrats take the lead in pre-Election Day votes

Florida Democrats have surpassed Republicans in pre-election totals, aided in large part by turnout during the early voting period.

Data compiled by the Florida Chamber of Commerce show nearly 2.1 million Democrats and nearly 2.1 million Republicans have already voted this election cycle. According to the Chamber data, Democrats now lead Republicans by a margin of about 2,600 votes.

Democrats still trail Republicans in the vote-by-mail race, returning 919,091 ballots. Registered Republicans have returned 988,579 ballots, giving them a vote-by-mail lead of more than 69,000 ballots.

While Republicans continue to dominate the vote-by-mail game, Democrats have been turning out in big numbers at early voting locations across the state.

The Florida Chamber data shows nearly 1.2 million registered Democrats have voted in-person during the early voting period. More than 1.1 million Republicans voted in-person during the early voting period.

Records show nearly 1.1 million independent voters have already vote. According to the Florida Chamber, 479,272 independent voters voted by mail, while 607,791 have voted during the early voting period.