30 Days to the Midterms: Early Voting Is Already Underway Across the Country

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2026 — Thirty days. That’s the number that matters tonight. The 2026 midterm elections are exactly one month out — Election Day is Tuesday, November 3 — and if you’ve been thinking of voting as something that happens on a Tuesday in November, I’ve got news: it’s already happening. More than 700,000 Americans have cast ballots in 30-plus states, according to a CNN analysis, and registration deadlines are falling this very week. The midterms aren’t coming. They’re here.

Here’s the scale of what’s on the line. Every single one of the 435 seats in the U.S. House is up for election. Thirty-five Senate seats are on the ballot, including two special elections. Governorships, state legislatures, ballot measures, local races — the full American democratic buffet, all at once. Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the House and a 53–47 edge in the Senate, and control of both chambers is considered competitive. A handful of seats in each direction decides everything.

Where you can vote right now

The early-voting map is already filling in. Early in-person voting for the midterms began September 18 in Minnesota and South Dakota, with Virginia also opening some early voting options the same day — roughly seven weeks before Election Day. Illinois followed on September 24. And today, October 5, California’s early voting opens (timelines vary by county, so voters there should check with their county elections office).

The rest of October is a drumbeat of openings. Arizona’s early voting runs October 7 through October 30. Georgia starts October 13. Nevada runs October 17 through 30. Texas runs October 19 through October 30. Maryland votes early October 22 through 29, including the weekend. Florida’s mandatory early voting period is October 24 through 31. Michigan runs October 24 through November 1. Pennsylvania voters, meanwhile, face an October 27 deadline to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot.

And the rules are not the same everywhere — not even close. Eight states plus Washington, D.C. conduct all-mail elections. Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire don’t offer no-excuse early in-person voting at all. Thirty-six states request or require some form of ID at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This is the part where the generic advice stops and the specific advice starts: look up your state’s exact rules now, not the week before you plan to vote.

What the early numbers are telling us

The CNN analysis of early voting data — more than 700,000 votes cast in at least 30 states a month before Election Day — comes with one big flashing headline: Democratic voters are requesting mail ballots at higher rates than at the same point in 2024, especially in states with key Senate or governor races. In Iowa, Democrats account for 67% of ballot requests, up from 54% two years ago. In Pennsylvania, the figure is 66%, up from 62%. Maine and North Carolina have also seen increases in Democratic ballot requests compared to this stage in the last cycle.

Virginia, which has reported the highest early vote totals so far, shows the same pattern: the areas that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 are turning out early faster than the areas that voted for Donald Trump, with a higher share of Democratic primary voters than at this point in 2024 — particularly in battleground House districts currently held by Republicans.

Now the cold water, because this column comes with a built-in reality check. Experts note that early voting data is mostly mail-in ballots at this stage, and that Republicans may be shifting toward other voting methods, like in-person ballots. Early voters skew older and less Republican-leaning as a group. The overall number of ballots cast remains a small fraction of expected turnout. Early data is a weather vane, not a forecast — useful for reading which way the wind is blowing, useless for predicting the storm’s path. Both parties know this. Both parties will spend the next 30 days trying to bank every vote they can before the other side does.

Your checklist for this week

Here’s what to actually do tonight, tomorrow, and this week — because deadlines don’t care about your intentions.

First: registration. If you’re reading this on Monday night, Arizona’s voter registration deadline is today, October 5, at 11:59 p.m. Nevada’s standard registration deadline is October 6. Texas’s deadline is October 5 as well. If you’re not registered, or you moved, or you’re not sure — check your status tonight. The federal vote.gov portal will point you to your state’s official site.

Second: if you plan to vote by mail, request your ballot early and read every instruction on the envelope. Deadlines bite: Florida’s deadline to request a mailed ballot is October 22; Arizona’s is October 23; Pennsylvania’s is October 27. Many counties let you track your ballot online — use that feature.

Third: know your early voting window and your ID rules. Mark the dates. Tell a friend. The 30-day countdown is the point in the campaign when “I’ll do it later” starts becoming “I missed it.”

There’s also the noise to keep an eye on. Voter eligibility rules are in the courts — citizenship checks are before the Supreme Court — which makes checking your own registration record more important than ever. And on the money side of the midterms, the stakes are already being set: read our coverage of Trump’s renewed push for $5,000 checks and today’s Arizona debate day for the campaign dynamics shaping this final month.

Thirty days, 470 federal seats, and a country already voting. However the next month shakes out, it started tonight — with a ballot, a mailbox, and a deadline that won’t wait.