Early Voting Runs Well Ahead of 2022 Levels as Midterms Enter Final Stretch

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (TodayViralUSA) — Early voting is running well ahead of 2022 levels in several states already issuing ballots, offering the first hard turnout signal of the Nov. 3 midterm elections as Democrats lean into early and mail voting and Republicans emphasize Election Day.

California, Montana and Nebraska opened early in-person voting this week, with Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio and Wyoming close behind, according to state election calendars. More than a dozen states are already accepting ballots with under a month remaining before Election Day.

Illinois “way ahead” of 2022

Illinois election officials have sent voters more than 1.03 million ballots, with more than 41,000 already returned, the Illinois State Board of Elections reported. By the same point in the 2022 midterms, fewer than 620,000 ballots had been mailed, board spokesman Matt Dietrich said, calling the state “way ahead this year.”

Pennsylvania alone has approved more than 1 million mail-ballot requests, according to early-vote trackers, while Minnesota, Maine and Nebraska also show stronger early volume than at the comparable stage four years ago.

Partisan strategies diverge

Early returns mirror long-standing party habits: Democrats are more likely to vote early or by mail, while Republicans prefer casting ballots in person on Election Day. Analysts caution that mail-request totals alone do not predict winners, especially as some Democrats shift toward in-person early voting amid lingering concerns about Postal Service delays.

President Donald Trump has sent mixed signals on the issue. He encouraged early and mail voting in battleground states during the 2024 cycle, later called to end mail balloting, then voted by mail himself in August. The Supreme Court last month blocked an administration effort to use Postal Service rules to restrict mail ballots ahead of the midterms.

What the numbers can — and cannot — show

Turnout enthusiasm in Virginia and other battlegrounds has drawn attention from both parties, but election researchers warn it is too early to translate early-vote leads into seat forecasts. Ballot curing, rejection rates and same-day turnout can still reshape the picture in the final weeks.

What is already clear is volume: with ballots moving in large numbers earlier than in 2022, campaigns are compressing their final persuasion and get-out-the-vote windows — and courts remain a live arena for last-minute voting rules.