Donald Trump claims ‘can I change my vote’ Google Trend ‘refers to changing it to me’

Nearly 70 million Americans have already cast their ballots ahead of election day – but one question is now trending on Google.

Nearly 70 million Americans have already cast their ballots ahead of election day – but some might be wondering if they can change that vote, according to Google Trends.

Google searches of the phrase “can I change my vote” peaked Tuesday morning in the US around 6am eastern time.

One of the subregions where the phrase began trending at one point was in Delaware, the state Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden represented in the Senate for 36 years.

Other subregions included battleground states such as Maine, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Iowa, Wisconsin and Arizona, according to Trends data at various points throughout Tuesday morning.

Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2020

RELATED: America’s voting system explained

While most states do not allow voters to change their early votes, there are some that do, with restrictions.

For example, in New York, if you have submitted an absentee ballot but change your mind, you can show up to your polling place during early voting or on election day and cast a vote, in which case the absentee ballot is set aside and not counted, according to the state Board of Elections.

In Michigan, voters who have sent in a ballot can submit a written and signed request to their voting clerk by 5pm on October 30 requesting to have the ballot nullified, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Minnesotans who mailed in an absentee ballot had until October 20 to request a new ballot from their county or city election office.

In New Hampshire, voters who submitted an absentee ballot can go to the polls on election day during the first hour they’re open and vote in person, or before their absentee ballot is processed.

In Wisconsin, if time allows, a voter can cancel their original absentee ballot and request a new one – but they have until October 29, the legal deadline for requesting absentee ballots by mail.

RELATED: How mail voting works in the US

Democrats are dominating in early voting. Picture: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP

David Becker of the Centre for Election Innovation told WBAL that changing a vote in states where that is possible is “extremely rare” and very complicated.

“It’s hard enough to get people to vote once – it’s highly unlikely anybody will go through this process twice,” he said.

The number of Americans who have voted early in the 2020 presidential election suggests a record turnout this year.

In 2016, 47.2 million early votes were cast in the presidential election, according to data from the University of Florida’s US Elections Project.

By Tuesday, nearly 70 million Americans had already voted – including 46 million mail-in ballots – equating to more than 50 per cent of the total votes cast in 2016.

“The numbers are stunning,” wrote University of Florida professor Michael McDonald.

According to data from the 20 states that provide party registration statistics, 16.2 million Democrats have voted, accounting for 48 per cent, compared with 9.8 million Republicans and 7.5 million independents.

“The election is not over yet, not by a long shot,” Prof McDonald wrote.

“Republicans need to vote in-person to make up ground on the Democratic mail voters, either early or on election day. There is still some play left in the in-person early vote, but time is starting to run short such that Republicans will need to rely heavily on election day vote, which has traditionally been a strong day of voting for Republicans in recent elections.”

US President Donald Trump tweeted about the Google Trend on Tuesday morning and encouraged voters to “go do it”, claiming without evidence that the trend “refers to changing it to me”.

While Mr Trump suggested the Google Trend started “immediately” after his debate with Mr Biden on Thursday, data showed the search did not spike until Tuesday morning, five days later.

It has also been suggested the uptick in searches related to changing votes were linked to searches for “Hunter Biden”, amid ongoing revelations about the former Vice President’s son’s overseas business dealings.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission