Early Voting Tops 20 Million Ballots Ahead of Nov. 3 Midterms

More than 20 million Americans had cast early ballots as of Thursday, Oct. 22, less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, according to data collected by The Associated Press.

The AP figure is drawn from statistics reported by 46 states. The news service said its count now includes early vote totals from Louisiana and Washington.

Where the votes are coming from

Texas, which has a closely watched U.S. Senate race this year, led the country with 2.36 million early ballots, according to the AP. California was close behind with 2.32 million.

The AP said its total equals just over a third of all early votes cast ahead of the previous midterm elections in 2022, and roughly 21% of the early votes received before the 2024 presidential election. In a separate analysis published Thursday, the AP reported that turnout so far is running well ahead of the last midterm in many of the states expected to decide control of the Senate.

NBC News, which tracks mail-in and early in-person voting across the country, reported 20,630,562 early votes nationally in its tracker last updated Friday, Oct. 23. NBC’s breakdown showed about 11.7 million mail-in votes and about 9 million in-person early votes, with 11 days remaining until Election Day.

NPR, citing data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab, reported that nearly 21 million people had voted as of Friday morning.

What early numbers can and cannot show

Election researchers caution that strong early numbers do not automatically mean higher overall turnout. Charles Stewart, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founding director of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, told NPR’s Morning Edition that many people voting early would have voted on Election Day anyway.

Stewart told NPR that the increase reflects both voter enthusiasm and the money campaigns are spending to encourage supporters to vote early. He also pointed to changes in how members of each party are voting. According to NPR, Democrats still hold an advantage in voting by mail, but that gap is smaller than in 2022 as more Democrats shift to early in-person voting, and Republicans’ slight advantage in early in-person voting could also narrow.

Stewart said the early activity in Maine and Iowa stood out, NPR reported, because neither state has been a major battleground in recent elections.

Key dates

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Early in-person voting periods, mail ballot request deadlines and return deadlines vary by state. Voters can confirm their own state’s rules, polling places and deadlines through their state or local election office.

Control of both chambers of Congress is on the ballot this year, along with governor’s races and state legislative seats in many states. Several states are also deciding ballot measures. The AP reported this week, for example, that voter identification proposals tied to mail ballots are on the ballot in California, Colorado and Nevada.

The bottom line

With 11 days left in the campaign as of Friday, the early vote stood at roughly 20 million to 21 million ballots, depending on the tracker and the time of the count. Texas and California account for the largest share so far. Final turnout figures will not be known until after Election Day, when states finish counting mail and provisional ballots.

Kacee Allen Network will update its coverage as new early vote data is released.