Early voting begins in both Florida and Wisconsin in the United States as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic counterpart Kamala Harris remain near deadlock, particularly in a handful of closely contested swing states that could decide the presidential election , as recently revealed survey data shows.

Ahead of the closely contested presidential election on November 5, Trump and Harris are neck-and-neck in the country’s seven battleground states that can choose either candidate, according to the latest voter poll released Monday by the Washington Post was published.

The poll found that about 47 percent of registered voters would definitely or probably vote for Harris. 47 percent said the same about Trump.

As for “likely voters,” 49 percent said they would support Harris, 48 ​​percent said they supported Trump.

A total of 47 states, including the District of Columbia, are preparing for early voting. In-person absentee voting opened Monday in Florida and begins Tuesday in Wisconsin. Early voting typically begins up to two weeks before Election Day and continues through November 3rd.

The state of Georgia reported record turnout on the first day of early voting last week.

Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire remain the only states that do not offer early voting; You also need a valid reason to vote by mail.

Latest survey

The Washington Post poll, conducted in the first weeks of October, surveyed more than 5,000 registered voters, a sizable sample, and examined a large group of unregistered voters who were not committed to a single candidate.

The poll comes at a time when Trump’s average has moved slightly ahead of Harris in the total of polls calculated by the website FiveThirtyEight, although the gap is so small that it is still statistically a tie.

The poll results are consistent with the fact that the two candidates are entering the campaign in full force this weekend – and in completely different ways. On Sunday, Trump handed out french fries at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania while Harris celebrated her 60th birthday at a church in Georgia.

Harris will hold moderated discussions with former Republican Liz Cheney in three battleground states on Monday. Her association with Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was criticized by some Arab Americans for supporting the Iraq War.

Trump has also seized on the partnership, calling the former congresswoman from the state of Wyoming a “war hawk.”

Arizona and Georgia

Trump’s support has barely changed in key states since an earlier Post-Schar poll. Harris is six percentage points ahead of her predecessor, President Joe Biden, who had 41 percent of voter support before leaving the race in July.

Trump is making gains in Arizona and has a six-point lead over Harris among registered voters. He also leads the vice president among registered voters in North Carolina, with a four-point lead.

His lead in those states is shrinking slightly among likely voters. The latest Post-Schar results differ from a recent Quinnipiac poll that showed Harris may have a slight lead in North Carolina.

Harris is strongest in the polls in Georgia, where she is six points ahead of Trump among registered voters and four points ahead among likely voters. She has a slight lead over Trump in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Harris is three points ahead of Trump among registered voters in Nevada, but the political rivals are in a dead heat among likely voters.

Fundraising

One area where Harris can beat Trump is fundraising. As Election Day approaches, Harris raised a whopping $633 million in the third fundraising quarter, bringing the total to over $1 billion, according to The Associated Press.

Her campaign raised $359 million last month alone and $222 million in September, but her team also fired off $270 million in a last-minute ad campaign in October.

The vice president’s campaign entered the month with $346 million in cash on hand. Trump had just $283 million at the start of the month and raised just $160 million in September.

As Reuters reported, Trump scored a very different victory on Monday morning when the Supreme Court announced that it had declined to hear an appeal from his former fixer, Michael Cohen.

Cohen sued Trump for retaliating against him while promoting a politically explosive book from Trump’s time in the White House. The justices declined to hear the case without comment.

A U.S. district court previously dismissed Cohen’s claim for damages, which the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld in January.

Cohen previously pleaded guilty to nine felonies related to campaign finance violations in the 2016 election year.