Politics
Florida early voting passes 1.6 million ballots, with parties split on voting method
About 11.7% of Florida’s registered voters had cast ballots by Thursday morning, three days into in-person early voting. Democrats led in returned mail ballots, while Republicans had more in-person early votes and a sizable registration advantage statewide.
More than 1.6 million Floridians had voted in the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections as of Thursday morning, accounting for about 11.7% of the state’s 13.7 million registered voters, according to figures from the Florida Division of Elections.
The early totals show different patterns by voting method. Nearly 485,000 registered Democrats had returned mail ballots, compared with just under 406,000 Republicans. At early voting sites, Republicans held the lead: nearly 235,000 had voted in person, compared with about 211,000 Democrats.
Voters registered with no party affiliation had returned roughly 212,000 mail ballots and cast another 93,000 in person. The figures track voters’ party registrations, not which candidates they chose.
In-person early voting was underway in more than half of Florida’s 67 counties. All counties are required to offer early voting starting Saturday, with the period ending Oct. 31 or Nov. 1, depending on local rules. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties scheduled voting from Oct. 19 through Nov. 1; Monroe County’s period runs through Oct. 31.
The party breakdown comes against a broader registration gap: Republicans have about 1.5 million more registered voters statewide than Democrats. In recent election cycles, Democrats have tended to lead in mail voting, while Republicans have offset that advantage with in-person early votes.
Florida’s 2022 midterm drew about 7.8 million voters, or 53.8% of registered voters at the time. The current early-vote count is an early snapshot, not a forecast of final turnout or election results.