More than 23 million Americans had cast early ballots ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, compared with about 15 million at the same stage of the 2022 election cycle, according to figures cited in the source. The increase has been concentrated in states with competitive contests that could determine control of the House of Representatives and Senate, with economic pressures and a legal dispute over Alaska’s Senate race emerging as major features of the campaign.
North Carolina recorded more than 1.2 million accepted early votes, an increase of 37 per cent compared with the same period four years earlier. Participation among registered Democrats rose by 47 per cent, while turnout among unaffiliated voters increased by 60 per cent. Early voting among registered Republicans rose by 2.6 per cent. The figures indicate changes in participation but do not establish how individual voters have cast their ballots.
Other states have also reported substantial increases. Early voting in Kansas rose by approximately 69 per cent, while Maine recorded a 41 per cent increase and Iowa a 24 per cent rise. In Texas, election officials reported record participation in metropolitan Dallas and Houston since voting centres opened. The state’s Latino community accounts for at least 30 per cent of the electorate, and polling and organising efforts cited in the source suggest that economic concerns and opposition to anti-immigrant rhetoric have influenced mobilisation among Latino voters.
The elections will determine all 435 seats in the House and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats. Voters will also elect governors in 36 states and three territories. Republicans hold a narrow 218-seat majority in the House, while Democrats need to gain four Senate seats to control the upper chamber. Key Senate contests include those in Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, Michigan and New Hampshire.
Economic conditions have become a central campaign issue. The source cites polling that places approval of the government’s cost-of-living policy at 21 per cent, amid concerns about inflation, wages, housing, healthcare and living conditions. Control of Congress will affect legislation on taxation, healthcare, immigration, energy policy and government spending, as well as judicial appointments.
The campaign has also been marked by a legal dispute in Alaska, where the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on October 22 seeking to prevent the state from certifying its Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola. The case centres on Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher whose name resembles that of the incumbent senator. The department argues that the similarity could confuse voters and has asked a federal judge to block certification of results that may have been affected.
President Donald Trump confirmed publicly that he had ordered the Justice Department to file the lawsuit. The action came 11 days before election day, after early voting had begun in Alaska. Voting-rights groups, Democratic organisations and legal experts have criticised the intervention, arguing that the federal government lacks authority to interfere in state-run elections and that the case could override voters’ decisions.
Peltola’s campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause have sought to intervene, asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit. Alaska’s courts had previously rejected efforts to remove Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the ballot, with both a federal judge and the Alaska Supreme Court ruling that his candidacy was constitutionally valid.
