By Jeffrey Rodack(NEWSMAX)

Even before polls opened on Tuesday, 100.2 million Americans had already voted.

The figure represents more than 47% of registered voters in the U.S., according to a survey of election officials by CNN, Edison Research, and Catalist. And it represents about 73%  of the more than 136.5 million ballots cast in 2016.

More than half of the registered voters in 21 states, and Washington, D.C., have already cast their ballots.

The pre-election vote in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee, represents at least 90% of the 2016 total in those states.

And six states — Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Texas, and Washington — have already surpassed their total turnout from the 2016 election.

The number of early voters shows the strong interest in the presidential race. Concerns about COVID-19 at Election Day voting sites have also pushed up the numbers of people who cast their ballots by mail or at early in-person polling places.