Early Voting Hits Record Ahead of US Midterms
More than 51 million Americans have already voted in person or by mail before Tuesday's midterms, which decide control of Congress, the US legislature. That sets a record for early voting, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, a research project that tracks turnout, as the Japan Times reported on 1 November. At the last midterms, in 2022, nearly 46 million people voted before Election Day.
The vote covers 35 Senate races and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Republicans hold the Senate 53 to 47 and have a narrow edge in the House, so the result decides whether President Donald Trump's party keeps Congress for his final two years in office. Alaska's Senate race, where Democrat Mary Peltola challenges Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, is seen as crucial to Democrats' hopes of winning the Senate. Michigan, with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers, is another close contest.
The count faces legal fights. The Justice Department wants mail ballots from more than 20,000 Californians it alleges are likely noncitizens set aside; an appeals court rejected the bid 2 to 1. The department has sued roughly 30 states for unredacted voter rolls. Still, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found 76 percent of voters confident their ballots will be counted accurately.
Election Day is Tuesday. Before then, the Justice Department will probably ask the Supreme Court to take up the California ballots, acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter told Fox News. Trump returns to the campaign trail on Sunday in Kansas and Iowa.
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A well-sourced, sober election report with numbers and open legal questions, but it describes events rather than offering a solution or progress beyond record turnout and voter confidence.
The text is factual and calm. It gives concrete figures such as 51 million early votes versus 46 million in 2022, the Senate split, and a poll showing 76 percent confidence in accurate counting. It also names open legal disputes and uncertainty about the outcome. It is mostly a news update, though, and does not explore responses or solutions, for example how election officials safeguard counts. Adding such context would raise the score.
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