Record 53 million Americans have voted early ahead of Tuesday
More than 53 million Americans had voted before Election Day by Sunday morning, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, well above the 45.9 million early votes in the 2022 midterms.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
Update, Nov. 1: The early vote passed 53 million by Sunday morning: 53.28 million as of 7:10 a.m. ET, about 29.5 million in person and 23.9 million by mail, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab. NBC News's tracker, which adds up state reports on a different schedule, showed 52.8 million. Texas, where early voting ended Friday, finished with about 7.7 million early ballots in the Election Lab's count, a record for a Texas midterm; local tallies reported by KHOU and News From The States put it between 7.6 million and 7.7 million. The paragraphs below describe the count as of midday Saturday.
The early vote keeps climbing. More than 51.3 million ballots had been cast ahead of Tuesday's midterms as of midday Saturday, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, Scripps News reported. That is about 5.4 million more than the 45.9 million cast before Election Day in 2022. More than 28 million of those ballots were cast in person, up from about 20.5 million in-person early votes in 2022. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
How fast it moved: The Election Lab count stood at 47.9 million at midday ET Friday. It reached 49.6 million by Friday evening, about 22.9 million mail ballots and 26.8 million in person, per Newsweek. It passed 50.5 million on Saturday morning, The Guardian reported, and 51.3 million by midday. Regular early voting ends in 20 states by the end of Saturday, Newsweek reported, so the daily jumps are likely to slow.
Why it matters
Control of the House and Senate for the last two years of President Trump's term is on Tuesday's ballot, with 35 Senate seats and all 435 House seats up, Reuters reported. Even so, the early vote so far is less than half of the roughly 108 million votes cast in 2022's House elections, Newsweek noted, citing Pew Research Center, so most of the outcome is still to be decided.
What’s next
Trump returns to the trail Sunday in Kansas and Iowa, Reuters reported. Voter trust in the count is high on both sides: 76% of voters said they were confident their ballots will be counted accurately in a Sept. 30 to Oct. 5 Reuters/Ipsos poll, with confidence about equal among Republicans and Democrats.
More context
Where it's running hottest: Texas has the most early votes at 6.9 million, followed by California at 5.1 million and Florida at 4.7 million, per Newsweek. Texas is about 50% ahead of its 2022 early vote, an Associated Press analysis found. Ohio passed its midterm early-vote record on Saturday morning with 1,485,900 ballots, topping 2022's 1,473,983 with voting still open, Fox News reported, citing AP. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News the Texas surge makes the election close.
Who has voted so far: In states that report party registration, registered Democrats make up 43.2% of early voters, registered Republicans 31.7% and unaffiliated or minor-party voters 25.1%, per Scripps. Democrats have improved their early turnout in 16 of the 25 states reporting that data. Trump has called early voting "ridiculous" and blamed it for his 2020 loss, while the White House has also urged voters to "avoid the wait" and vote early this year, Newsweek reported.
What the evidence shows: An early Democratic lead often shrinks once Election Day ballots are counted. In 2024, Democrats won mail ballots by 24 points, but Republicans won early in-person voting by 14 points and Election Day voting by 16, according to Pew Research Center data cited by ABC News. Party registration also shows who voted, not which candidates they picked.
Sources across the spectrum This story cites right-leaning and left-leaning outlets. Every source is listed below.
12 listed sources
- University of Florida Election Lab, 2026 early voting tracker, updated Oct 31, 2026:
- Scripps News, In-person early voting hits record pace for midterms, Oct 31, 2026:
- Reuters via Investing.com, US campaign for control of Congress enters final weekend, Oct 31, 2026:
- Reuters via The Globe and Mail, Midterm campaign enters final weekend as Alaska, California ballot fights heat up, Oct 31, 2026:
- The Guardian, More than 50m Americans cast ballots in early voting with three days to go before midterms, Oct 31, 2026:
- Fox News Digital, live updates: 3 days to go, Oct 31, 2026:
- Newsweek, Democrats leading in ballots as early voting surges to midterms record, Oct 31, 2026:
- ABC News, Early vote shows Democratic enthusiasm high in some key states, but only one piece of puzzle, Oct 2026:
- NBC News, Tracking the 2026 early vote, Nov 1, 2026:
- Al Jazeera, More than 50 million votes cast in US midterm elections, Nov 1, 2026:
- News From The States, More than 7.7 million Texans voted early:
- KHOU, 7.6 million Texans voted before Election Day:
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Updated Oct. 31 with Saturday's totals; the first version (Oct. 30) reported 47.9 million. Early-vote totals come from trackers that add up state reports on different schedules, so outlets cite slightly different figures depending on the hour. Party shares come from the roughly 25 to 27 states that record party registration and show who voted, not how they voted. The photo at top is from early voting in New Orleans in 2020, not from this election. Updated Nov. 1 with Sunday morning's national total and Texas's end-of-early-voting figure.
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