More than 50 million Americans cast early ballots in midterm elections

More than 50.5 million early votes have been cast across the United States as of the morning of October 31, 2026, the Guardian reported. The total comes three days before election day as voters decide a series of tight contests that will determine control of Congress. The figure is nearly 5 million votes higher than the total number of early votes cast in the last midterm elections, according to analysis by the University of Florida cited by the Guardian. [1]

The Guardian reported that registered Democrats are outnumbering Republicans in states that collect party affiliation data. Early voting, which includes postal voting and in-person voting at designated polling stations, is designed to increase voter participation and relieve congestion on election day. [1][2]

The nationwide surge follows high turnout reported in individual states during the early voting period. As FTMQ News reported earlier, early turnout in Georgia increased by 12 percent compared with the 2022 midterm elections, exceeding one million ballots in its first week. FTMQ News also reported earlier that more than 279,000 Black voters in North Carolina cast early ballots, outpacing recent midterm elections. [4][5]