PoliticsFriday, October 30, 20261 min read

Millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day as early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds

By Simran Parwani, Associated Press · Via PBS NewsHour · Published by Everything Blog

In short

More than 43 million Americans have cast early ballots either in person or by mail with five days remaining before Election Day. The surge reflects an increase of nearly 10 million votes compared to the same point during the 2022 midterms. High-stakes Senate battlegrounds like Texas and South Carolina are posting major percentage gains in voter participation. Among states tracking party affiliation, roughly 6.8 million Democrats and 5.2 million Republicans have voted so far.

Key points

National early turnout has outpaced the 2022 midterm election pace by nearly 10 million c…: National early turnout has outpaced the 2022 midterm election pace by nearly 10 million cast ballots.
Several states with critical Senate races, including Michigan and North Carolina, have ex…: Several states with critical Senate races, including Michigan and North Carolina, have experienced participation increases exceeding 30%.
Reported party affiliation data remains partial and does not indicate which candidates re…: Reported party affiliation data remains partial and does not indicate which candidates received the cast early votes.

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By — Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press By — Simran Parwani, Associated Press Simran Parwani, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/millions-more-americans-vote-ahead-of-election-day-as-early-voting-jumps-across-senate-battlegrounds Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day as early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds Politics Oct 30, 2026 10:44 AM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Early voting is continuing to significantly outpace the last midterm election, with millions more Americans casting ballots in advance and particularly sharp increases in states hosting competitive Senate races, according to an Associated Press analysis of voting data five days before Election Day. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. The surge is especially pronounced in Texas, where voters are deciding closely watched Senate, House and governor's races. More than 6.3 million Texans had voted early as of Wednesday, compared with 4.2 million at the same point…

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Key Points

National early turnout has outpaced the 2022 midterm election pace by nearly 10 million c…: National early turnout has outpaced the 2022 midterm election pace by nearly 10 million cast ballots.
Several states with critical Senate races, including Michigan and North Carolina, have ex…: Several states with critical Senate races, including Michigan and North Carolina, have experienced participation increases exceeding 30%.
Reported party affiliation data remains partial and does not indicate which candidates re…: Reported party affiliation data remains partial and does not indicate which candidates received the cast early votes.

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AI Analysis

Tone

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In short

Key Points

National early turnout has outpaced the 2022 midterm election pace by nearly 10 million c…: National early turnout has outpaced the 2022 midterm election pace by nearly 10 million cast ballots.
Several states with critical Senate races, including Michigan and North Carolina, have ex…: Several states with critical Senate races, including Michigan and North Carolina, have experienced participation increases exceeding 30%.
Reported party affiliation data remains partial and does not indicate which candidates re…: Reported party affiliation data remains partial and does not indicate which candidates received the cast early votes.

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Millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day as early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds

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