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39 million people have already voted in this year’s midterm as Trump makes final push to save his majority

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Scott, O. (2026, October 29). 39 million people have already voted in this year’s midterm as Trump makes final push to save his majority. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/midterm-elections-early-voting-trump-b3075426.html

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The Independent · collected 2026-10-29 · by Owen Scott

Quick Summary

Around 39 million Americans have already voted in the midterms as President Trump rallies for Republican candidates. According to an NBC News analysis, 18.6 million mailed ballots and 21 million in-person votes have been cast ahead of election day, with Democrats leading Republicans among early voters at 47% to 35%. In Texas, over 5 million votes are already counted, showing a significant Republican edge despite national trends favoring Democrats.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of November 1, 50.5 million Americans have cast their ballots early in the 2026 US midterm elections, surpassing the previous record set during the 2022 midterms by nearly five million votes. Early voting began weeks before Election Day and is especially high in states with contentious Senate races. The surge is significant as both Republicans and Democrats face tight contests that could determine control of Congress for President Donald Trump's final two years in office. Key battlegrounds like Texas have seen a substantial increase in voter turnout, reflecting broader national trends of heightened political engagement.

Written for “US Midterms Early Voting Surges” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 US Midterms Early Voting Surges
Politics · 9 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
Al Jazeera
Hedges 20 of 101 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A provides an overview of upcoming midterm elections with no mention of early voting statistics or current events, while Article B focuses on early voting results and Trump's final push before the election.”
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the midterm elections; one covers voter issues based on polling data while the other reports on early voting numbers and Trump's campaign efforts.”
CBC News
Hedges 9 of 93 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the midterm elections; Article A focuses on the necessary gains for Democrats to flip power, while Article B reports on early voting numbers and Trump's final push.”
CBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 5 of 46 claims Outlet record 71/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the election: Article A focuses on Hispanic voter behavior and its potential impact, while Article B discusses overall early voting trends.”
New York Post
⚖️ Centre further right than this Hedges 3 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss early voting trends for midterms, they cover different time frames and broader scopes (national vs. NYC-specific).”
The Straits Times
Hedges 5 of 34 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles cover different aspects of the election context rather than a single specific incident.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 30 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the election process; one focuses on demographic shifts from a past presidential election victory and the other reports on current early voting trends for an upcoming midterm election.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 42 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the midterm elections; Article A provides an overview and context for the upcoming election, while Article B reports on early voting numbers and current campaigning activities.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 39 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the midterm election process — Article A focuses on tight races and polling trends, while Article B reports on early voting numbers and President Trump's campaigning.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
3 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
9
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3719 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Owen Scott
93 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The aircraft’s co-pilot was heard in audio reviewed by CNN and Sky News sending out a mayday call before stating that the plane was descending at 20,000 feet per minute.
🔮 If borne out, the predictions would represent a major setback for Donald Trump as he enters the final two years of his presidency.
🔮 Kylie Arellano vanished at the age of 15 in May 2025 from Garden City, Utah.
🔮 Numerous polls have predicted grim outcomes for Republican candidates amid public anger over the soaring cost-of-living and the president’s unpopular war in Iran.
🔮 Robinson went on to share that he would shut off his laptop and stop talking about work whenever he finished for the day and sometimes even left between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. “My family life gives me energy for my work,” he wrote.
🔮 Speaking toThe Los Angeles Times, LAPD Lieutenant Elpidio Orozco said the victim’s name will be confirmed once her family have been notified, adding that the police department’s Multidisciplinary Collision Investigation Team is investigating.
🔮 Days away from the midterm elections, President Trump posted a surreal picture of his face side-by-side with Elvis Presley and claimed he would have won the Vietnam War.
🔮 All nine people onboard the Learjet 60 died when it nose-dived on Sunday and exploded into a fireball near Cresthaven - around nine miles from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. “We’re descending 8,000 - mayday, mayday,” the pilot radioed in audio obtained by Sky News.
🔮 In her motion, Hutt suggested that the pause would be effective for 45 days but could even be extended for a year.
🔮 “Seeing a passenger jet flying low overhead here would be quite a bad sign!
Also by Owen Scott
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 93 articles by Owen Scott →

Topics

Congress Democrats GOP Republican Senate

Subjects

Democrats NORP · 6× GOP ORG · 4× Congress ORG · 3× Republican NORP · 3× Senate ORG · 3× Texas GPE · 3× Trump PERSON · 3× House ORG · 2× NBC News ORG · 2× the Democratic Party ORG · 2×

Narrative

The data examined by the network also revealed that 77 percent of those who had voted early in Senate battleground states had voted previously in 2024 and 2022, compared to 16 percent who voted in 2024 only and six percent who did not vote in either election.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 Currently, the GOP controls both the House and the Senate, but some polls have shown that the Democratic Party could flip the balance of power in Congress.

Claims (18 extracted, 3 hedged)

With days of campaign left to go, around 39 million Americans have already voted in this year’s pivotal midterm elections. asserted
Americans → leave → elections
The surge in early voting comes just under a week before most people head to the polls, with President Donald Trump throwing his weight behind Republican campaigns with a series of rallies. asserted
Trump → come → rallies
Currently, the GOP controls both the House and the Senate, but some polls have shown that the Democratic Party could flip the balance of power in Congress. uncertain
Party → control → Congress
Around 18.6 million mail-in votes and 21 million in-person votes have already been cast to decide who will control Congress, according to an analysis by NBC News on Thursday. uncertain
who → mail → Thursday
The analysis looked at state data and figures provided by the Democratic-aligned research firm TargetSmart. asserted
analysis → look → firm
Forty-seven percent of those who have voted are registered as Democrats, while 35 percent are registered as Republicans, the data shows. asserted
data → vote → Republicans
In the face of wider polling figures signalling frustration with his party, Trump has been a prominent figure in the GOP’s campaigns, appearing at a number of rallies to drum up support for Republican candidates. asserted
Trump → signal → candidates
“Pretend I'm on the ballot, because if you get out, we're going to win big,” he told a crowd in Iowa. asserted
he → pretend → Iowa
Meanwhile, Democrats are fighting close races in traditional GOP strongholds during this midterm cycle, with U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico neck-and-neck with Republican nominee Ken Paxton in Texas. asserted
Talarico → fight → Texas
As of Wednesday, more than 5 million votes have already been cast in Texas, according to data from the Election Lab at the University of Florida. uncertain
votes → cast → Florida
In mid-October, Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden announced that the state had 19 million registered voters ahead of the election on November 3. asserted
state → announce → November
The state bucks the trend of more Democrats heading to the polls early, as the data reviewed by NBC News shows 45 percent of those who have already cast their ballots are registered as Republicans - compared to the 44 percent registered as Democrats. asserted
who → buck → Democrats
The data examined by the network also revealed that 77 percent of those who had voted early in Senate battleground states had voted previously in 2024 and 2022, compared to 16 percent who voted in 2024 only and six percent who did not vote in either election. asserted
who → examine → election
Currently, the Republican Party holds 53 seats in the Senate compared to the Democrats’ 47 seats, which includes two independents who usually vote along with the party. asserted
who → hold → party
The GOP also holds a majority in the House with 218 seats, compared to the Democrats’ 214 seats. asserted
GOP → hold → seats
The Democratic Party has targeted its campaigns at voter frustrations with the war in Iran and the cost of living, as well as stating that increased power in Congress would enable them to put checks on Trump’s policies. asserted
power → target → policies
However, there has been some concern over whether Trump will accept the results of the November 3 elections, given that he has previously questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 Presidential Election and alleged that mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud. asserted
voting → accept → fraud
Asked earlier this week whether he will accept the results of the election, he replied: “I will if they’re honest elections.” asserted
they → ask → election
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