Early Voting Surges to a Record 47.9 Million as Americans Cast Ballots Days Before the Midterms

 

A record 47.9 million Americans had already cast ballots ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, according to an Associated Press analysis of voting data cited in coverage published October 31, 2026 — nearly 10 million more early votes than at the same point in the 2022 midterms, with the surge sharpest in states with competitive Senate races.

The University of Florida's Election Lab put the figure at 47,922,669 early votes recorded nationwide by midday on October 30, already above the previous midterm early-voting record of about 45.9 million ballots cast in 2022. The analysis covered 47 states and Washington, DC, five days before Election Day.

Texas leads the surge

Texas is the clearest example of the jump: more than 6.3 million Texans had voted by Wednesday, compared with 4.2 million at the same point in 2022 — a rise of 50 percent. The state is home to closely watched races for the Senate, the House of Representatives and governor, with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton challenging Democrat James Talarico for the Senate and Republican Governor Greg Abbott seeking re-election against Democrat Gina Hinojosa.

Early voting also rose by more than 30 percent in Maine, Michigan, North Carolina and Kansas, all states with competitive Senate races. Michigan recorded about 409,000 more early votes than at the same point in 2022, an increase of 32 percent, in the first midterm in which early in-person voting is available statewide there after voters approved it in November 2022.

Democrats ahead in early ballots — but that is not a result

In states that report voters' party affiliation, about 6.8 million Democrats and 5.2 million Republicans had cast ballots early, according to the Associated Press analysis. The Election Lab figures put registered Democrats at about 44 percent of early ballots, registered Republicans at 31 percent, and unaffiliated voters and members of smaller parties at 25 percent.

Those numbers do not say who won: party registration does not necessarily mean which candidate a voter supported, and they do not cover all early voters nationwide. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, and control of Congress will be decided on November 3.

The turnout record lands in the final days of a campaign already marked by court fights over ballots — a federal judge on October 30 blocked the Justice Department from pressuring election officials, and an appeals court on Friday again refused to order California to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots — and by President Donald Trump's restored rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday, November 1.

Sources: Times Now (Associated Press analysis), October 31, 2026; University of Florida Election Lab figures cited October 31, 2026; The Indian Express live midterm coverage, October 31, 2026.