Early Voting Tops 2022 Midterm Record as Ballots Pass 48 Million

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Harris
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Key Points

  • More than 48 million early ballots had been cast nationwide by Saturday morning, according to two national trackers.
  • That passes the final 2022 midterm early vote of 45,920,446 recorded by the University of Florida Election Lab.
  • The UF Election Lab counted 50,347,824 early votes as of 8:56 a.m. ET; NBC News counted 48,466,943 as of 9:00 a.m. ET.
  • Officials and news outlets report early turnout above the 2022 pace in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
  • Party registration figures describe who has voted, not how they voted. No early ballots are reported as results until polls close.

The early voting record 2026 midterm voters set this week kept growing Saturday, with more than 48 million ballots cast before Election Day, according to two national trackers. That is above the roughly 45.9 million early votes cast in the 2022 midterms, which AFP described as the previous midterm record.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Some states, including North Carolina and South Carolina, offer in-person early voting through Saturday, and mail ballots continue to arrive.

What happened

The University of Florida Election Lab early vote tracker, run by political scientist Michael McDonald, showed 50,347,824 early votes nationwide in its update posted at 8:56 a.m. ET Saturday. That total included 27,274,263 in-person early votes and 23,183,463 returned mail ballots. Voters had requested 60,876,124 mail ballots.

The lab’s final 2022 report, last updated Nov. 24, 2022, counted 45,920,446 early votes in that midterm. The 2026 figure is about 4.4 million higher, or roughly 9.6 percent, and in-person early voting has already passed the 2022 level of 20,487,803. Returned mail ballots remain below the 2022 final of 25,432,643, according to the lab.

The NBC News early vote tracker, which uses data from TargetSmart and state election officials, reported 48,466,943 mail and early in-person votes as of 9:00 a.m. ET. It showed 21,994,939 mail votes and 26,472,004 in-person votes, with 60,197,077 mail ballots requested or sent.

The two counts differ by about 1.9 million votes. The trackers collect state data on different schedules and handle some state reports differently, so their totals rarely match exactly. Both are above the 2022 final.

Latest development

Status as of 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 31: Both trackers had posted Saturday morning updates, and states continued to report new early vote totals.

State reports

Texas: More than 6.3 million Texans had voted early as of Wednesday, compared with about 4.2 million at the same point in 2022, the Associated Press reported. The Dallas Morning News reported more than 6.4 million in-person early votes through Thursday, above the previous non-presidential record of about 5.5 million set in 2018. Early voting in Texas ended Friday.

North Carolina: More than 1.7 million people had voted early by Oct. 27, nearly 37 percent above the same point in 2022, WLOS reported Oct. 28, citing State Board of Elections data. Early voting there ends at 3 p.m. Saturday.

South Carolina: The State Election Commission said nearly 564,000 people had voted early by 3 p.m. on Oct. 26, passing the 561,563 early votes cast in all of 2022. Early voting in the state runs through Saturday.

Georgia: In-person early votes reached 2,294,275 by Thursday afternoon, passing the 2022 total of 2,289,951, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office as reported by WABE and CBS Atlanta. “Georgians continue to head to the polls in record numbers because they trust the system,” Raffensperger said in a statement Thursday. In-person early voting in Georgia ended Friday.

Why it matters

AFP described this year’s total as a midterm record. High early turnout does not by itself show which party or candidate will win, and early voters can differ from those who vote on Election Day.

Party registration data offers a partial look at who has voted. In the 27 states that report it, the UF Election Lab lists 43.4 percent of early voters as registered Democrats, 31.6 percent as registered Republicans and 25.0 percent as unaffiliated or minor party. The lab notes that these statistics are not actual votes. McDonald has also cautioned that registration does not show how a person voted, AFP reported.

Election officials do not report early ballots as results before polls close. Some states count mail ballots after Election Day, so totals can take days to finish. Our guide to voting on Nov. 3 explains deadlines and ballot rules.

What happens next

The trackers will keep updating through the weekend as states report the last in-person early votes and incoming mail ballots. Most polls open Tuesday morning, and poll closing times vary by state.

Many states accept mail ballots only if they arrive by the close of polls, while others accept ballots postmarked by Election Day. Georgia requires absentee ballots to arrive by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters should check deadlines with their state or local election office.

Related live coverage

Follow turnout updates and election news on the U.S. Politics Live center, and find race guides and results pages in our 2026 midterm elections hub.

Sources