WASHINGTON — Early voting is surging in many of the states expected to decide control of the U.S. Senate, according to an Associated Press analysis of advance ballots cast two weeks before the November 3 midterm Election Day.

Source: Associated Press via KCAU 9 — Many states deciding control of the Senate are seeing a big boost in early voting

In Texas, early voting is up 74% compared with the same point in 2022. In Kansas it has more than doubled. Maine, North Carolina and Ohio have each seen increases of more than 30% in early in-person and mail voting compared with the same stage four years ago, the AP analysis found.

Source: Associated Press via KXL — Many states deciding control of the Senate are seeing a big boost in early voting

13 million+Early and mail ballots cast nationally so far — AP
9 millionBallots cast at the same point in 2022 — AP
+74%Texas early voting vs 2022 — AP
2x+Kansas early turnout vs 2022 — AP

Nationally, more than 13 million mail-in and early in-person votes have been cast, compared with 9 million at the same point in 2022. The AP noted the increase also reflects a few states that expanded early voting opportunities and others that made more of their data available since the last midterms.

Source: Associated Press via KCAU 9

Democrats are trying to flip Republican-held Senate seats in each of those states, and in most of them Republicans account for a smaller share of advance voters than they did in 2022, according to the AP. The data, which runs through Tuesday, offers a snapshot of voter enthusiasm — and where it may be lagging — after early voting opened in most states.

Source: Associated Press via KXL

Midterm elections typically favour the party out of power in Washington. With Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, the environment is distinctly different from 2022, when Democrats were in charge, the AP noted.

Source: Business News Today — US midterm early voting surges past 13 million

What early voting does — and does not — show

Early totals measure how many ballots have been cast, not how those voters voted. Analysts caution that early voting numbers alone cannot establish which party will benefit when ballots are counted on and after November 3.

What is solid

  • More than 13 million early and mail ballots have been cast nationally, vs 9 million at the same point in 2022 — Associated Press analysis of data through Tuesday.
  • Texas early voting is up 74% vs 2022; Kansas has more than doubled; Maine, North Carolina and Ohio are each up more than 30% — AP.

What is only claimed

  • What the surge means for the final result is not established — the AP itself notes expanded early-voting access and better data availability explain part of the rise, and early totals do not reveal how people voted.