Early voting hits record 49.6 million ballots with three days left

Nearly 50 million Americans have cast early ballots for Tuesday's midterm election, a record pace with three days left to vote. The University of Florida's Election Lab counted 49.6 million early votes as of Friday evening, including close to 22.9 million mail ballots returned and 26.8 million in-person votes ¹.

That already exceeds the previous record of 45.9 million early votes set during the 2022 midterms ¹. The regular early voting period ends Saturday in 20 states ¹.

On tapeNBC News · Oct 29

▶6:42

Registered Democrats account for 43 percent of the early vote so far, compared with 32 percent for Republicans and 25 percent for unregistered voters or those registered with a smaller party ¹. By 9:39 p.m. Eastern time Friday, the lab had tallied 10.3 million votes from registered Democrats, 7.5 million from Republicans and 5.9 million from the unregistered or minor-party voters ¹.

Only 27 states track early voting by party registration, so the figures may not fully reflect nationwide voting patterns ¹. Texas, California and Florida have seen the most votes, at 6.9 million, 5.1 million and 4.7 million respectively ¹. Battleground states include Georgia with 2.8 million, North Carolina with 2.3 million, Michigan with 1.9 million and Ohio with 1.5 million ¹.

From Channel GOPHusted's nine votes against lower health premiumsSherrod Brown · 126 plays · captioned, with the source named

The Associated Press reported Friday that 50 percent more Texans had voted early this year than in 2022, with sizeable jumps in the Senate battlegrounds of Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Kansas and South Carolina, the latter up 83 percent ¹. In Maine, early voting has jumped more than 30 percent ².

Both parties have urged voters to cast ballots early. President Donald Trump has branded the practice "ridiculous," while the White House has encouraged voters to avoid the wait and vote as early as possible ¹. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Association of State Democratic Committees, told NBC News in September that the party would be really pushing people to vote early in person ¹.

On tapeKPRC 2 Click2Houston · Oct 30

▶2:33

This is the best way that we can get Democrats elected is if you vote early in person

Candidates are making their final stops. Trump is in Florida and will then head to Iowa and Kansas, a last-minute change after initially canceling those rallies ². In Ohio, Sherrod Brown is holding rallies with gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton ².

In Alaska, Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola denied knowing about a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot. "I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent," she said ². The New York Times found that her campaign and national Democrats recruited a retired schoolteacher named Dan J. Sullivan to run ².

The early vote total is less than half the 108 million votes Pew Research Center tallied for the 2022 House elections, meaning many voters could still be swayed in the final days ¹. As of Saturday, the RealClearPolling average of the generic congressional vote gives Democrats an 8.2-point lead, 51.4 percent to 43.2 percent ¹.

That matters because the early vote numbers show intense engagement, but they are not a final result. The party registration figures reflect only the states that track them, and the large share of unregistered and minor-party voters leaves room for movement before Tuesday.

The Record

1. Nov 8, 2022The previous early voting record was 45.9 million ballots in the 2022 midterms ¹.
2. Oct 30, 2026As of Friday evening, 49.6 million early votes had been cast, including 22.9 million mail ballots and 26.8 million in-person votes ¹.
3. Oct 31, 2026Regular early voting ends in 20 states ¹.

Sources

1. Newsweek, “Democrats Leading in Ballots As Early Voting Surges To Midterms Record” (2026-10-31). newsweek.com/democrats-leading-in-ballots-as-early-voting-su
2. PBS NewsHour, “Candidates make final midterm stops as early voting surges” (2026-10-30). pbs.org/newshour/show/candidates-make-final-midterm-stops-as

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.