More than 54 million Americans have voted early. What does that tell us, and when will we know results?

Update, Nov. 4, 2026: Polls have closed in every state. The Associated Press has called the Senate and the House for Democrats; for calls, counts still under way and what is still uncalled, see our live results explainer. The rest of this page is as published before Election Day.

More than 54 million Americans had voted early by Sunday afternoon, about 8 million more than in 2022, USA Today reports (updated Nov. 1, 3:59 p.m. ET), citing the University of Florida Election Lab. The figures show who voted, not how. Registered Democrats lead the early vote, but Republicans tend to vote on Election Day. Most results start after polls close Tuesday.

Key facts - Early votes: more than 54 million (USA Today, citing UF Election Lab, Nov. 1, 3:59 p.m. ET); 54,834,584 by NBC News's tracker, Nov. 2, 7:47 a.m. ET - Nov. 3: 58,805,899 early votes in the UF Election Lab's state data file (tracker last updated 8:06 a.m. ET) - 2022 at the same stage: about 45.9 million (USA Today) - Early voters by party registration: Democrats 43%, Republicans 31%, no party 25% (The Guardian, citing UF Election Lab, Nov. 1) - Party data show who voted, not how, and only in states that register by party - Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3; no state releases results before its polls close (NCSL)

How many people have voted early so far?

The count moves by the hour. USA Today put it at more than 54 million early votes as of its Nov. 1, 3:59 p.m. ET update, counting in-person and mailed ballots cast before Election Day, compared with about 45.9 million in 2022. Earlier Sunday, Al Jazeera reported 53.14 million as of 6:56 a.m. ET, about 29 million cast in person and 23 million by mail, both citing the UF Election Lab run by political scientist Michael McDonald.

Some of the growth is about access. Al Jazeera reports that 47 states offer early in-person voting in 2026, up from 24 in 2000. Big state totals include Texas at 7.6 million, a midterm record, and Georgia at more than 2.8 million, The Guardian reports (Nov. 1). In Georgia, 2,000,452 people had voted in person by 4:30 p.m. Oct. 27, 22% more than at the same point in 2022, the secretary of state's office said, as reported by Fox News.

USA Today notes that some states don't report every day, so national comparisons are rough.

Update, Nov. 2: NBC News's early-vote tracker, last updated 7:47 a.m. ET Monday, counted 54,834,584 mail-in and early in-person votes nationally, about 24 million by mail and 30.8 million in person, with 60,734,302 mail ballots requested or sent. NBC adds up daily state totals from the data firm TargetSmart and state officials. Its party split (46% Democrats, 35% Republicans, 19% other) mixes state party registration with TargetSmart's model of party affiliation where states don't register by party, so it isn't directly comparable with the registration-only shares above. Polls start closing at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday; see our hour-by-hour poll-closing guide.

Update, Nov. 3: On Election Day morning, the University of Florida Election Lab tracker, last updated 8:06 a.m. ET, draws on a state-by-state data file that totals 58,805,899 early in-person and mail votes, up from the 54 million-plus counted on Sunday. States report on different schedules, so the figure is a running total, not a final count. Election-night results are unofficial until each state certifies them; our certification guide explains when that happens.

Does early voting by party tell us who will win?

No. Party data show which party a voter is registered with, not the candidates they picked. They come only from the 27 states that register voters by party, TIME reports (Oct. 27). Ballots are secret, so "this data can't tell us how many votes a party or candidate has won," CNN's tracker says (updated Oct. 30).

The split also reflects habit. McDonald told TIME that early voting data can't be used on its own to predict outcomes: "We expect the Democrats to build up a lead in the early vote, and Election Day tends to be a Republican day." TIME cites a Pew Research Center survey after the 2024 election that found nearly 40% of registered Republicans voted in person on Election Day, against 28% of registered Democrats. USA Today says the increase "does not predict which party will take charge of Congress."

Early voters also skew older. In the 14 states that report age, voters over 40 cast more than 80% of early ballots, USA Today reports.

How is each side reading the numbers?

Outlets on the left lean toward the turnout as a warning for Republicans. The Guardian (Nov. 1) calls it a potential sign of voter dissatisfaction with Republicans and President Trump, and cites McDonald telling Axios it could reflect a "referendum on Trump." CNN's tracker says Democrats are a bigger share of early voters in several key states than two years ago, in line with the party's enthusiasm edge, but says there is "plenty of time for Republicans," who typically prefer to vote on Election Day, to reverse that trend.

Outlets on the right stress the limits of the data and the Election Day vote. The New York Post (Geoff Earle, Oct. 17) reported Democrats "running up lopsided majorities of the early votes," 54% to 30% by registration in TargetSmart and NBC News data, but said "none of the data show how people actually voted," and quoted University of Kentucky political scientist Stephen Voss asking whether it reflects "upper status voters who always vote anyway." Fox News led its Oct. 27 coverage with Georgia's record, quoting Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that voters are "shattering in-person turnout records because they trust our election process." The Daily Mail's Nov. 1 live coverage centers on Trump's final rallies in Iowa and Kansas and his call for "our Great Patriots" to vote.

Both sides agree turnout is well ahead of 2022 and that registration is not a vote count.

When will we know results?

It depends on the state. No state releases results before its polls close, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures' table on when mail ballots can be processed and counted (accessed Nov. 1). Forty-four states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands let officials start processing mail ballots, such as checking signatures, before Election Day. In 33 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, officials can also start tabulating early. Places that start later, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where processing begins on Election Day, can take longer to report mail ballots.

Deadlines for mail ballots matter too. Thirty-five states require them to arrive by Election Day, and 15 states plus D.C. count ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive later, NCSL's receipt and postmark table shows. It notes the Supreme Court's June 29, 2026, ruling in Watson v. RNC that federal law doesn't block states from counting ballots that arrive after Election Day. California accepts them up to seven days later and Nevada until 5 p.m. on the fourth day.

Election night numbers are unofficial. Local officials then count provisional ballots and canvass the results, and a statewide body certifies them, NCSL explains. Our guide on when election results are certified walks through those steps.

What does this mean in Illinois?

Illinois is one of seven states where officials can't tabulate mail ballots until polls close, according to NCSL, though they can verify them before then. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day still count if they arrive within 14 days, so close Illinois races can shift after election night. The Illinois State Board of Elections posts official statewide results and voter information.

For what's on the ballot, see our 2026 midterms explainer, and for the new district lines in several states, our redistricting explainer.

Sources

• NBC News: Tracking the 2026 early vote, last update Nov. 2, 2026, 7:47 a.m. ET
• USA Today: Early voting is far ahead of 2022. Here's where it's rising fastest, updated Nov. 1, 2026, 3:59 p.m. ET
• University of Florida Election Lab: 2026 Early Voting (figures as reported by USA Today, Al Jazeera and The Guardian)
• Al Jazeera: More than 50 million votes cast in US midterm elections: What does it mean?, Nov. 1, 2026
• The Guardian: Three key takeaways from early voting in midterm elections, Nov. 1, 2026
• CNN: What early voting data is showing ahead of the 2026 midterms, updated Oct. 30, 2026
• TIME: What Early Voting Data Is Showing About the Midterm Elections, Oct. 27, 2026
• New York Post: Democrats' midterm elections mail-in votes give early leads, Oct. 17, 2026
• Fox News: midterm live updates, Oct. 27, 2026
• Daily Mail: midterm live updates, Nov. 1, 2026
• NCSL: Table 16, when mail ballot processing and counting can begin
• NCSL: Table 11, receipt and postmark deadlines for mail ballots
• NCSL: Postelection processes
• Illinois State Board of Elections

Photo: Infrogmation / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped to 16:9. A "Vote Here" sign at the Jefferson Parish East Bank Regional Library in Metairie, Louisiana, Oct. 23, 2026.

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources. Written and edited by The Whole Read newsroom under Monsaur Othman's editorial standards. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.