Early vote up 10 million as Texas and South Carolina signal historic turnout

More than 43 million Americans cast ballots early in person or returned mail ballots five days before the 2026 midterm election. This total is nearly 10 million higher than the figure recorded at the same point in 2022. The data covers 47 states and Washington, D.C.

Texas shows the largest absolute increase. More than 6.3 million Texans voted early as of Wednesday, October 28. In 2022, that number was 4.2 million. This represents a 50 percent jump in participation over four years. The state’s two-week early in-person voting period ends Friday.

Harris County, which includes Houston, saw 862,700 early votes as of Wednesday. That compares to 564,500 in the same period in 2022. The county has voted Democratic in recent cycles. In 2024, Kamala Harris defeated Donald Trump there by nearly 6 percentage points. Colin Allred beat Ted Cruz in the Senate race by roughly 11 percentage points.

South Carolina recorded the sharpest percentage increase. Early voting there is up 83 percent compared to 2022. Voters in that state are selecting a successor to the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. They are also choosing a new governor. Donald Trump visited Texas earlier this week, marking his third trip to the state in one month.

Other Senate battlegrounds are also seeing double-digit growth. Maine reports a 44 percent increase in early votes. Michigan has recorded roughly 409,000 more early ballots than in 2022, a 32 percent rise. Kansas is up 34 percent, with about 83,000 more ballots cast than four years ago. North Carolina also sees a gain of more than 30 percent.

The data breaks down party affiliation where available. About 6.8 million Democrats and 5.2 million Republicans cast early ballots in states that report this information. These numbers do not represent all early voters or indicate specific candidate choices. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate.

Michigan holds the distinction of having its first statewide midterm election with early in-person voting. Voters approved the measure in November 2022. The upcoming election will determine control of Congress two years into President Donald Trump’s second term. Republicans hold both chambers of Congress heading into this vote.