US early voting passes 50 million after clearing 43 million

More than 50.5 million Americans had voted early across the United States by the morning of Oct 31, the Guardian reported, as participation in the midterm elections rose beyond the 43 million ballots reported by the BBC on Oct 29.¹²

A growing national count

The elections will decide the membership of the House of Representatives and Senate for the remaining two years of Donald Trump’s second presidential term. The Republican Party is seeking to retain its Senate advantage of 53 seats to 47. Early voting includes ballots cast in person before Election Day and those returned by mail.²⁴

According to the Straits Times, the Election Lab’s tally reached 47,922,669 by noon on Oct 30, surpassing the 2022 midterm high of 45.9 million early ballots. By Oct 31, the Guardian put the national count nearly 5 million above the full early-voting total for that election.²³

In its Oct 30 report, the Boston Globe said the data encompassed Washington, D.C., and 47 states; four years before, the tally included the district and 48 states. It reported particularly large increases in states with competitive Senate contests.⁴

Increases across states

Texas had recorded more than 7 million early voters, around 1.5 million more than in 2022, according to the Guardian’s Oct 31 report. Harris County recorded 862,700 early voters, compared with 564,500 at the equivalent point in 2022, the Guardian and Boston Globe reported.²⁴

The Texas contests include a Senate race between Republican attorney general Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, while Republican governor Greg Abbott is seeking another term against Democrat Gina Hinojosa, according to the Boston Globe.⁴

The Guardian reported early-voting increases over 2022 of 83% in South Carolina, 34% in Kansas, 44% in Maine and 32% in Michigan. The Boston Globe noted that Michigan’s statewide early in-person voting became available for this midterm election after voters approved it in November 2022.²⁴

Georgia passed its midterm record for early in-person voting on Oct 29, according to the Straits Times. Of the votes submitted by then, 56% came from women and 44% from men. The newspaper further said turnout was rising for Black and Hispanic voters where states released demographic figures on race and ethnicity.³

Limits to the figures

In states reporting party registration, registered Democrats had cast 10.7 million early ballots and registered Republicans 7.8 million, the Guardian reported. Such figures neither encompass every early voter nationwide nor identify the candidates those voters supported, the Boston Globe noted.²⁴

Experts cited by the Straits Times cautioned against treating early-voting totals as a forecast of the result. The newspaper reported that Republicans had tended to vote in greater numbers on Election Day in recent elections.³