51 million Americans cast ballots ahead of 2026 midterms

More than 51 million U.S. voters have cast ballots in the 2026 midterm elections, according to tracking data from the University of Florida Election Lab. The figure surpasses the total recorded in 2022, marking a new high for early participation in a mid-term cycle.

The lab’s numbers show that 28,133,515 of these votes were cast in person at designated polling locations. The remainder of the current count consists of ballots returned via postal mail. This in-person volume represents more than half of all early votes tallied so far.

An additional 40 million mail-in ballots have been requested by voters but have not yet been returned. These pending ballots could increase the final tally of pre-election voting once they are processed and counted. The Election Lab continues to monitor these returns as the campaign nears its final days.

In the previous mid-term election in 2022, the same tracker recorded 46 million people voting before Election Day. The current pace of 51 million exceeds that baseline by five million votes. The data indicates a sharp rise in early engagement compared to the last mid-term cycle.

The University of Florida Election Lab maintains the tracking tool used to monitor these figures. The organization provides the raw data for in-person and mail-based early voting. This dataset serves as the primary reference for national early vote totals in the 2026 contest.