US Midterm Early Voting Hits Record 48 Million

Key takeaways

Nearly 48 million Americans had voted early by midday on October 30, a record for a midterm election. Democrats lead Republicans among party-registered early voters, but analysts caution that early figures do not predict the November 3 result.

Conceptual illustration of paper ballots flowing into a ballot box with red, white and blue ribbons and gold stars on a dark navy background — Illustration: WHAT TODAY?

Nearly 48 million Americans have already cast their ballots in the 2026 midterm elections, setting a new record for early voting days before Election Day on Tuesday, November 3. The University of Florida’s Election Lab recorded 47,922,669 early votes nationwide by midday on Friday, October 30, passing the previous midterm record of 45.9 million early ballots cast before Election Day in 2022.

The surge comes with four days of voting still to go at the time of the count, and with early voting continuing into the final weekend in many states. Measured five days before Election Day, more than 10 million additional voters had taken part compared with the same point in 2022, according to Associated Press reporting of the figures.

The battlegrounds lead the surge

Texas has driven much of the increase. More than six million Texans had voted early by Wednesday, with in-person turnout running around 50 percent higher than at the same stage in 2022, according to official figures. Georgia set its own milestone on Thursday, when early in-person voting passed the state’s previous midterm record. In Georgia, women accounted for 56 percent of ballots cast by that day, against 44 percent for men.

University of Florida political scientist Michael McDonald, who oversees the Election Lab, has also pointed to rising participation among Black and Hispanic voters in states that report racial and ethnic data, with particularly strong turnout in heavily Hispanic communities along the Texas-Mexico border.

What the party split shows, and what it does not

In states that record voters by party affiliation, registered Democrats accounted for around 44 percent of early ballots, compared with 31 percent for Republicans and 25 percent for independent or minor-party voters. That split has drawn attention because all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, along with a string of Senate and governor races that will shape the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.

But analysts caution against reading the figures as a prediction. A voter’s party registration does not reveal which candidates they supported, and tens of millions more Americans are expected to vote on Tuesday itself. Republicans have also historically recorded stronger participation on Election Day in some recent elections, which could narrow the early gap.

Why it matters

The record early vote matters less as a forecast than as a measure of engagement. Midterm turnout has usually stayed in the 40 percent range since the 1980s, and early voting has become the main way Americans now take part. A record early total, driven by battleground states, suggests an electorate that is motivated well before polling day, whatever the final result.

There is a second caution. A record early vote does not automatically mean record overall turnout. Some voters may simply be casting ballots earlier than they did in previous elections rather than adding to the total, and the final verdict depends on who turns out on Tuesday and on state rules for mail ballots and counting.

What’s next

The last early votes will be cast over the weekend, and polls close across the country on Tuesday, November 3. Counting timelines vary by state, so while some races may be called on election night, others, particularly close ones, could take days to settle. The early-vote record is now fixed in the books; whether it becomes a record overall turnout is the question Tuesday will answer.