Three days before the polls even open on Election Day, Americans have already shattered a midterm turnout record.
As of Friday evening, 49,564,545 people had cast their ballots early in the 2026 midterm elections, according to data compiled by the University of Florida’s Election Lab and reported by CBS News. That’s roughly 26.8 million people who voted early in person and about 22.9 million who returned mail ballots.
Already past 2022’s entire early vote
For comparison, nearly 46 million Americans voted before Election Day in the last midterms in 2022, Reuters reported. This year’s early vote has already blown past that total, and there’s still a weekend of early voting left in many states before Tuesday, November 3.
An Associated Press analysis released Friday found that more than 43 million Americans had voted early five days before Election Day, nearly 10 million more than at the same point before the 2022 midterms. Some of the biggest jumps came in states with competitive Senate races.
Texas is turning out in a big way
Texas stands out. More than 6.3 million Texans had voted early as of Wednesday, compared with 4.2 million at the same point in 2022, an increase of 50 percent, according to Al Jazeera’s roundup of the numbers. Texas is home to one of the country’s tightest Senate races, between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton.
What the polls are saying
The surge comes as Democrats hold a clear lead in national polling. RealClearPolling’s average of the generic congressional ballot shows Democrats ahead of Republicans 51.4 percent to 43.2 percent, an 8.2-point edge. An Economist/YouGov survey released Thursday found 44 percent of registered voters expect Democrats to control the House after the election, compared with 31 percent who expect Republicans to keep it. Expectations for the Senate are much closer.
All 435 House seats and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats are on the ballot Tuesday, and the results will shape the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. Reuters noted that a Democratic win in one or both chambers could open the door to congressional investigations of the administration, which has enjoyed largely compliant Republican majorities for two years.
Haven’t voted yet?
If you haven’t cast your ballot, check your state’s early voting hours for this weekend, confirm your polling place for Tuesday, and if you’re voting by mail, make sure you know your state’s return deadline. Record turnout only counts if every eligible voter shows up.