Early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more
Americans vote ahead of Election Day
[October 31, 2026]
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and SIMRAN PARWANI
WASHINGTON (AP) — Early voting is significantly outpacing 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.
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 four years ago, a 50% increase.
Advance voting has also increased more than 30% from the same point four
years ago in Maine, Michigan, North Carolina and Kansas, states with
competitive Senate races. In South Carolina, where voters are choosing a
successor to the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, early voting is up
83%.
Data comes 5 days before Election Day
The data, compiled by the AP, offers a glimpse of early voter
participation five days before an election that will determine control
of Congress and other key contests.
Across the country, more than 43 million Americans had voted early in
person or returned mail ballots, nearly 10 million more than in 2022.
The figures cover 47 states and Washington, D.C., compared with 48
states and the nation's capital four years ago.
In states that provide information on voters’ party affiliation, about
6.8 million Democrats and 5.2 million Republicans have cast ballots
early. Those figures do not account for all early voters nationwide or
indicate which candidates received their votes.
The increase comes as voters prepare to decide control of Congress two
years into President Donald Trump’s second term, with Republicans
holding the House and the Senate.
The turnout has been Texas-sized
Voters have turned out in droves during Texas’ two-week early in-person
voting period, which ends Friday.
In Harris County, which includes Houston, 862,700 people had voted as of
Wednesday, compared with 564,500 at the same point in 2022.
The surge comes in a county that has reliably voted Democratic in recent
elections, though by varying margins. In 2024, Democratic Vice President
Kamala Harris defeated Trump by nearly 6 percentage points in the
presidential contest, while Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred
carried the county by roughly 11 percentage points over Republican Sen.
Ted Cruz.
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Voters line up for the first hour of early voting at Metropolitan
Multi-Service Center in Houston, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Elizabeth
Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
This year, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton faces Democrat
James Talarico in a closely watched Senate race, while Republican
Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking reelection against Democrat Gina
Hinojosa.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have poured into the Senate race as
Republicans fight to defend a state where Democrats have not won a
statewide election in more than three decades. Trump visited Texas
earlier this week, his third trip to the state in a month.
Early voting surges across Senate battleground states
Republicans are defending a 53-47 Senate majority in a midterm
election in which the battleground map has expanded significantly,
with Democrats hoping to pull off upsets in states that have long
favored Republicans.
In South Carolina, where Trump won by nearly 18 percentage points in
2024, early voting has surged 83% compared with the same point in
2022. The state has open races for governor and U.S. Senate this
year.
In Kansas, where Republican Sen. Roger Marshall faces Democratic
Methodist megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton, early voting has
increased 34%, with roughly 83,000 more ballots cast than at the
same point four years ago.
Michigan and Maine, both of which have closely watched Senate races,
are also seeing increases.
In Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces Democratic
former state Senate President Troy Jackson, early voting is up 44%.
Michigan has recorded roughly 409,000 more early votes than at the
same point in 2022, a 32% increase.
Voters in Michigan approved early in-person voting in November 2022,
making this the first midterm election in which it is available
statewide.
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