More than 43 million ballots cast so far in midterms early voting surge

In the final week before the US midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress for the next two years, early voting in the United States has surpassed 43 million ballots. According to data from the University of Florida Election Lab, both Texas and other states are experiencing high rates of early voting. Texas, in particular, has seen a massive turnout with over 5.8 million early ballots cast, surpassing its 2022 early voting numbers.

Professor Mike McDonald, who maintains the database, notes that Hispanic communities in Texas are voting at higher rates than usual. Turnout appears to be on pace to beat both 2020 and 2018 midterm elections, which had record turnouts for midterms. Overall, 44% of early votes have been from Democrats, 31.2% from Republicans, and 24.7% from voters without party affiliation.

In states that require voter registration and race information, such as North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, data shows increased votes from Hispanic and black communities, while white voters' voting patterns remain consistent with 2022. Early voting's surge can be attributed to the Covid pandemic, as more states offered early voting options, including in-person and mail-in voting.

Early voters are also returning their ballots earlier than in previous elections. Early voting records have already been broken in Minneapolis, which set a record for a non-presidential election. As early voting winds down, some officials have confirmed that records are being broken, while concerns about postal voting and potential meddling in the US Postal Service could be influencing voter behavior.