More than 46 million Americans had cast ballots before Election Day as of Friday, exceeding the 45.9 million who voted early in the 2022 midterms, according to the University of Florida Election Lab as reported by States Newsroom outlets^1,4,9,15.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3²⁶. The early-vote total is a count of ballots already returned, not a forecast of the final national turnout^1,15.

Among early voters counted through Friday, 43.9% were registered as Democrats, 31.3% as Republicans and 24.8% had no party affiliation, the lab's figures showed^1,4,11.

Michael McDonald, the University of Florida political scientist who leads the Election Lab, said this week that incoming early-vote data pointed toward overall turnout similar to 2018^1,7,14. It remains unclear whether 2026 will exceed that year's 53% midterm turnout, the highest rate since 1914^1,15,23.

States Newsroom's Ariana Figueroa, whose dispatch ran in more than 20 state newsrooms, also cited the Cook Political Report's Oct. 30 House ratings, which moved 12 races toward Democrats and listed 18 House contests as toss-ups^1,4,9. Cook listed seven Senate races as toss-ups, in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas^1,15,21.

The same report said Republicans are seeking to keep majorities in both chambers and that Democrats are favored in many public forecasts to win the House, a pattern often seen in midterms^1,11,20. Those forecasts are not results¹.

Separately, Atlanta News First reported that Georgia's secretary of state's office said Thursday that statewide early in-person voting for a midterm had broken the 2022 record, with almost 2.3 million early votes by the end of Thursday²⁶. Friday was the last day of in-person early voting in Georgia²⁶.

Georgia voters this cycle are choosing a U.S. senator, with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff facing Republican Rep. Mike Collins, and a governor, with Republican Rick Jackson facing Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Atlanta station reported²⁶.

Atlanta News First said President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance campaigned in Georgia in the closing stretch and that former President Barack Obama appeared in metro Atlanta, with former Vice President Kamala Harris scheduled for a Fulton County event as early voting ended²⁶. The station's account did not include the national 46 million figure²⁶.

What remains unknown is how many additional ballots will be cast on Election Day and whether the final 2026 turnout will match or exceed 2018^1,15. Early-vote party registration is not the same as how those ballots will be counted by candidate^1,4.