WASHINGTON DC. WA, October 23, 2026 — In the run-up to the midterm elections, which take place on November 3, over 20 million Americans have already voted. The jump comes on the heels of a week that saw a turnout beyond 18 million by Thursday. The pace is among the strongest on record for a non-presidential year, election officials say. Election administration updates published by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission review early voting statistics and midterm turnout milestones.
Seismic Early Election Turnout
That total includes the overwhelming majority of mail-in ballots and in-person early votes. Nearly 10.6 million ballots had been mailed in and 7.5 million cast in person as of midweek. Nearly 30 states have opened up early voting for some aspects before Election Day. Voter participation research published by the Bipartisan Policy Center examines early voting accessibility and mail ballot trends across U.S. states.
Many states this cycle are also setting records of their own. In Texas, nearly 1.8 million early ballots had been cast in just a few days after polls opened, including a first day that shattered records in Harris County. In Georgia, the first state to cross the threshold of a million early votes cast, that milestone was characterized by the state election office, in a public turnout update, as a bellwether of confidence among voters.
Who Is Showing Up So Far
The partisan gap shown in preliminary figures is wider than in midterm cycles of the last several years. So far, there are a much larger proportion of ballots cast by registered Democrats thus far than by registered Republicans. Analysts link the trend to increased Democratic participation observed in this year’s primary elections.
The percentage of highest-propensity voters, those who participated in nearly every recent election, is as well above where it is in 2024. That change indicates that much of the most dependable electorate is voting early as an alternative to ready till November 3. The worrying part for pollsters is that early turnout can only take one so far in predicting a final outcome.
Trusts the Process by Party
Indeed, a national poll recently revealed a deep split by party in perceptions about whether this year’s vote count is being conducted fairly. The survey data tracked by the University of Florida Election Lab shows that confidence among Republican voters has been rising since 2022. In the same period, confidence among Democratic voters has declined. Election research updates published by the University of Florida Election Lab analyze voter confidence metrics and ballot security perceptions.
Others hear the specter of potential interference in November, so they take to the polls early. Others say mainly because they want an early ballot they know will be counted. In some states, election officials have cited trouble-free early-voting operations as proof positive that the process is working well.
What Comes Next, Before Election Day
Not surprisingly, early voting periods vary by state by a mile, with most ending shortly before Nov 2. People in non-early in-person voting states may also elect to vote by mail or vote absentee. Voters should consult the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s state-by-state voting guide for their deadlines. State election resource summaries published by the National Association of Secretaries of State examine state-specific voting deadlines and absentee ballot rules.
Election officials expect early voting to pick up even more as the Oct. 31 deadline nears with less than two weeks to go. Even more ballots are expected to be cast by the time polls nationwide open on Election Day. Until all votes are tallied after November 3, it will not be possible to get a precise figure for voter turnout.
Why This Midterm Looks Different Election officials attribute the increase to greater accessibility of early voting. Since then, forty-seven states and Washington, D.C. provide at least some mode of early voting for federal elections. This access has more than doubled since the most recent midterm cycle in 2022.
The early numbers are already shaping the way campaign strategists on both sides allocate resources, they say. Battleground states are attracting increased attention from both parties as preliminary tallies come in, as tight races have opened up in battleground states. Turnout experts caution that a strong start early numbers do not necessarily translate to a similar result on Election Day itself.
This cycle in particular has subjected voter registration deadlines to significant variation from state to state. Same-day registration is permitted in some states with early voting, other states require weeks in advance registration. Local election offices update voters on deadlines heading into the final stretch
