Early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day

Washington: Early voting is continuing to significantly outpace the last midterm election, with millions more Americans casting ballots in advance and particularly sharp increases in states hosting competitive Senate races, according to an Associated Press analysis of voting data five days before Election Day.

The surge is especially pronounced in Texas, where voters are deciding closely watched Senate, House and governor's races. More than 6.3 million Texans had voted early as of Wednesday, compared with 4.2 million at the same point four years ago, a 50% increase.

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Advance voting has also increased more than 30% from the same point four years ago in Maine, Michigan, North Carolina and Kansas, states with competitive Senate races. In South Carolina, where voters are choosing a successor to the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, early voting is up 83%.

The data, compiled by the AP, offers a glimpse of early voter participation five days before an election that will determine control of Congress and other key contests.

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Across the country, more than 43 million Americans had voted early in person or returned mail ballots, nearly 10 million more than in 2022. The figures cover 47 states and Washington, D.C., compared with 48 states and the nation's capital four years ago.

In states that provide information on voters' party affiliation, about 6.8 million Democrats and 5.2 million Republicans have cast ballots early. Those figures do not account for all early voters nationwide or indicate which candidates received their votes.

The increase comes as voters prepare to decide control of Congress two years into President Donald Trump's second term, with Republicans holding the House and the Senate.