Nearly 59 million Americans cast early ballots ahead of US midterms
Nearly 31.9 million of the early ballots were cast in person, and the rest were returned by mail.
Nearly 59 million Americans had cast early ballots in the 2026 US midterm elections by Tuesday, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
The University of Florida Election Lab said the tally stood at about 59 million early ballots nationwide as of Tuesday morning, with around 31.9 million cast in person and 27.1 million returned by mail.
That figure is a significant increase from the 2022 midterms, when about 45.9 million Americans voted early, the lab said.
Political scientist Michael McDonald compiles the data, gathering early voting statistics from state election officials for the tracker.
The tracker also includes state-level data on in-person and mail-in voting, along with voter demographics and party registration where available.
The figures do not reveal how people voted, because ballots are counted on Election Day, although some states process them earlier.
Party registration data is available only in states that record voters' political affiliation, so the figures do not give a complete national picture of partisan participation, the tracker warns.
Some states do not report early voting figures daily, so the latest numbers may reflect different reporting dates across the country.
Early voting allows Americans to cast ballots in person before Election Day or return them by mail, depending on state regulations.
Americans will choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 senators on Tuesday, as well as state and local officials.
