US midterms: more than 53 million ballots already cast as Americans prepare to vote Tuesday with control of Congress at stake

Americans head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, in midterm elections that will decide control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, along with governorships in 39 states. By Sunday morning, more than 53 million people had already voted, a pace well ahead of the last midterms in 2022.

About 53.14 million votes had been cast as of 6:56am ET on Sunday, November 1, according to the University of Florida Election Lab, as reported by Al Jazeera. Roughly 29 million were cast in person and 23 million by mail. At the same point in 2022, about 46 million people had voted early. More than 11 million registered Democrats had voted early, against about 8 million registered Republicans, according to the same data; party registration does not show how people actually voted.

What is at stake

Republicans hold the House 218-214, with two vacancies and one independent who caucuses with them, and the Senate 53-47, according to a Reuters explainer published in October. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in each chamber to take control. Reuters identified about ten Senate races, including Maine, Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa and Georgia, that could decide the upper chamber.

Rising consumer prices, housing, healthcare, immigration enforcement and fuel costs linked to the US war with Iran have dominated the campaign. National polls compiled two days before the vote showed 51.5% support for Democrats and 43.1% for Republicans, Al Jazeera reported. President Donald Trump’s approval stood at 32% in a September Reuters/Ipsos poll, the lowest of his presidency according to Reuters.

Trump’s closing pitch

Instead of travelling to battleground states on Monday, Trump scheduled nine tele-rallies from the White House starting at 11am ET, remarks at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool at 2pm ET and seven more tele-rallies later in the day, according to the White House schedule reported by ABC News. Asked why he chose the pool, Trump said it was “just to show how beautiful it is.”

The venue has a troubled history. Repairs that Trump said in April would cost about $1.5 million finished nearly three months late and at more than ten times that estimate; after he declared the work complete in June, algae blooms and peeling liner forced the pool to be drained again in mid-July, AP reported. Trump blames vandals, while the US Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia said shoddy workmanship caused the problems.

At a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday, Trump questioned the integrity of Tuesday’s vote and called several states “crooked” and “corrupt”, ABC News reported, citing the Brennan Center for Justice’s finding that voter fraud is very rare. In Michigan, Democratic Representative Haley Stevens made a surprise endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.

Confirmed and pending

• Confirmed: election date; early-vote totals as of Sunday morning; Trump’s Monday schedule.
• Pending: final turnout and results. Some close races may take days to call. SagaTVec.lat will cover the results on Wednesday.

Sources

• Al Jazeera – More than 50 million votes cast in US midterm elections (Nov 1, 2026)
• Reuters via Khaleej Times – US midterm elections 2026: all you need to know (Oct 19, 2026)
• ABC News – Midterm elections live updates
• AP via KSAT – Trump’s closing pitch at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (Nov 1, 2026)

Featured image: the Lincoln Memorial at sunset, photographed by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash (Unsplash License). Illustrative image.

Mary del Castillo · Americas · Virtual editorial byline
Editorial direction: Leonidas Ferraz · November 2, 2026 · AI-assisted writing