More than 1 in 10 registered Florida voters have already cast ballots for the 2026 midterms
More than 1.6 million Floridians have already cast ballots in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with registered Democrats holding a narrow lead over Republicans after three days of in-person early voting.
The total represents about 11.7% of Florida's 13.7 million registered voters.
According to figures released Thursday morning by the Florida Division of Elections, registered Democrats have returned nearly 485,000 mail ballots, compared with just under 406,000 returned by Republicans.
Republicans, however, have the edge in in-person early voting. Nearly 235,000 registered Republicans have voted at early voting locations, compared with approximately 211,000 Democrats.
Early voting is underway in more than half of Florida's 67 counties. All counties must offer early voting beginning Saturday, with the early voting period continuing through Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, depending on the county's rules.
In Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, early voting runs from Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, providing voters with 14 consecutive days to cast their ballots. In Monroe County, early voting runs from Oct. 19 through Oct. 31.
Democrats have outpaced Republicans in mail voting during recent election cycles, while Republicans have made up the difference through in-person early voting.
Republicans also hold a significant advantage in voter registration, with approximately 1.5 million more registered voters than Democrats statewide.
Meanwhile, voters registered without a political party affiliation have returned about 212,000 mail ballots and cast another 93,000 ballots in person.
How does turnout compare with the 2022 midterm election?
Florida has approximately 13.7 million registered voters heading into the Nov. 3 election.
In the 2022 midterm elections, about 7.8 million Floridians voted, representing 53.8% of registered voters at the time.
While Democrats currently hold a narrow lead in ballots cast, the figures reflect voters' party registration, not which candidates they supported.