Policy
Early voting passes 53 million as US midterms enter final days
More than 53 million Americans had voted early by Sunday, according to a University of Florida analysis, as the 2026 midterms approached Election Day. The total includes about 29 million in-person votes and 23 million mail ballots, with especially large increases in Texas and several competitive states. Democrats had cast more early votes than Republicans, but the report cautions that turnout figures do not reveal candidate choices or determine the final outcome.
Editorial summary · Publisher article
What matters
- Early voting was up from the comparable point in 2022, including a sharp increase in Texas.
- Early-voting procedures and ballot-counting deadlines vary substantially by state.
- The Supreme Court rejected a Trump effort to impose new federal mail-ballot restrictions before this election.
Context & caveats
- Early turnout patterns are not a reliable forecast of the final results.
Why this made the edition
A detailed election report explains early-voting totals, state variation, voter motivations, mail-voting rules and legal context, while noting turnout cannot predict results.
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