PENSACOLA, Fla. – Early voting began Monday in Northwest Florida.

Thousands of people across our region are flocking to the polls ahead of Election Day to stand out from the crowd and cast their vote.

Thousands across Northwest Florida are making sure their voices are heard.

“It was great in there, it took us maybe five minutes and we were done,” said early voters Anita and Douglas. “We actually have a trip planned next week so we would be gone and that actually helps us get out the vote.”

Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties opened all polling locations for early voting on Monday.

While early voting in Walton County begins Oct. 26.

Many choose to vote early to beat the crowds.

“Basically it's about ticking the box and getting it done so we don't have to think about it for the rest of the week. We thought early voting wouldn’t be as busy, and that was great,” said Anita and Douglas.

“After a little over two hours, 1,200 voters had already come and voted,” said Robert Bender, Escambia County elections director.

Escambia County has a history of high voter turnout, and part of that is due to early voting.

“In 2016, we had 36% of the vote in early voting,” Bender said. “In 2020 it was a little higher due to Covid, so it will probably even out a little bit, but we expect it to be close to Election Day levels, with all 13 days corresponding to Election Day.”

At least 15,000 to 16,000 votes have also already been sent.

You can cast your early vote every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until November 2nd.

The last day to request a postal vote is this Thursday.