US Early Votes Pass 50 Million Ahead of Midterms
More than 50.5 million Americans had voted early by Saturday, nearly 5 million above the 2022 total, with Democrats ahead among registered voters in states that report party.
Early voting in the US midterms is already larger than the whole early vote in 2022, with three days left before Tuesday's election.
The numbers so far
An analysis by the University of Florida counted more than 50.5 million early votes as of Saturday morning. That is nearly 5 million more than the total early vote in the last midterms.
In states that record party registration, 10.7 million registered Democrats have voted, against 7.8 million registered Republicans. Those figures show who is registered, not who people voted for.
What is at stake
Republicans are defending a 53-47 Senate majority. The battleground map has widened. Democrats are aiming at conservative-leaning states such as Texas, Alaska and Kansas, and wins there could give them control of the Senate. The House is also on the ballot. The two chambers will be set for the last two years of Trump's second term.
Polling has shown widespread unhappiness with Trump's presidency and unusually close races in states Republicans usually win comfortably. Rising costs of food, gasoline and other essentials, the Iran war and concern over government corruption form the backdrop.
Texas leads the surge
More than 7 million people have voted early in Texas, 1.5 million more than voted early in the state in all of the 2022 midterms. In Harris county, which includes Houston, 862,700 people had voted as of Wednesday, compared with 564,500 at the same point in 2022, according to an Associated Press analysis.
The Texas Senate race pits Republican attorney general Ken Paxton against Democrat James Talarico. Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, faces Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Hundreds of millions of dollars have gone into the Senate contest. No Democrat has won statewide in Texas in more than three decades.
Other Senate races
The AP found early voting up in other tight contests. It is up 83% in South Carolina compared with the 2022 midterms. In Maine the rise is 44%, in Kansas 34% and in Michigan 32%. Trump won South Carolina by nearly 18% in 2024.
Our View
High early turnout shows engagement, but it does not say who is winning. The party split is based on registration only. Turnout on Tuesday itself, and how the tight Senate races break, will decide whether the early lead for Democrats means anything.
Source: The Guardian