Early vote in the US elections increases by 10 million by 2022

Mas far as 43 million Americans have voted in advance in mid-term elections on Tuesday, almost 10 million more than in 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated Press (AP).

The data, collected five days before the November 3 elections, reveal a significant increase in early participation, particularly in the states where disputes between the Senate take place.

Texas has one of the highest rises, with more than 6.3 million votes anticipated by Wednesday, against 4.2 million at the same time as the mid-term elections of four years ago, a growth of 50%.

The numbers include face-to-face votes and bulletins sent by mail and cover 47 states and Washington DC, compared to 48 states and the federal capital in 2022.

In the states that provide information on the party membership of voters, about 6.8 million Democrats and 5.2 million Republicans have already exercised the right to vote.

These figures do not represent all voters who have voted in advance, nor do they allow determining which candidates have placed their votes.

The increase in participation occurs at a time when Americans prepare to decide the composition of Congress, two years after the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term.

Today, the Republican Party controls the House of Representatives and the Senate, where it has a majority of 53 seats against 47 of the Democrats and independents who align with them.

In Texas, where the forward vote ends today, the mobilization has been particularly expressive.

In Harris County, which includes Houston, they had voted by Wednesday 862,700 people, against 564,500 in the same period of 2022.

The state hosts elections for the Senate, the House of Representatives and the state government.

In the Senate dispute, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton faces Democrat James Talarico in a campaign that mobilized hundreds of millions of dollars.

Democrats have been trying to win a state where they haven't won a state election in over three decades.

Trump visited Texas this week, in what was his third trip to the state during October.

The growth of early voting is also significant in South Carolina, where it increased by 83% over the same period of 2022.

In this state, which Trump won in the Presidential of 2024 by a margin of almost 18 percentage points, voters will choose a new senator to replace Republican Lindsey Graham, meanwhile deceased, and a new governor.

In Kansas, where Republican Senator Roger Marshall faces Democratic Adam Hamilton, Methodist pastor, the early vote increased by 34%, corresponding to about 83,000 additional votes.

In Maine, where Republican senator Susan Collins seeks reelection against Democrat Troy Jackson, former president of the state Senate, growth has reached 44%.

Michigan recorded more than 409,000 early votes than in the same period of 2022, an increase of 32%.

In this state, it is the first midterm elections in which the face-to-face vote is available throughout the territory, after the voters had approved the modality in November 2022.

North Carolina also has a 30% increase in early participation.

Tuesday's elections will determine the distribution of forces in the US Congress, in a context in which Republicans seek to preserve parliamentary majorities and Democrats try to regain control of one or both chambers.