More than 51 million Americans had cast ballots early in the 2026 midterm elections as of Saturday, according to figures from University of Florida researchers cited by EL PAÍS. The total has already passed the roughly 46 million early votes recorded in the 2022 midterms, based on the university's Election Lab data.
Slightly over half of the early votes cast this cycle were done in person. Of the 60.1 million mail ballots requested, 23.3 million had been returned, the figures show.
Why it matters
The early-voting count is one of the few concrete indicators available before Election Day, and this year's pace is running ahead of the last midterm cycle. High early turnout can signal strong engagement on both sides, though it does not by itself predict the outcome of individual races. The split between in-person and mail voting also offers a view of how voters are choosing to participate as voting rules and litigation continue to shift in several states.
Trump backs Salazar in a tightening Florida race
President Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed Rep. María Elvira Salazar's bid for reelection in Florida, writing on Truth Social that she has his "complete and total support" and urging voters to turn out for her, EL PAÍS reports. The endorsement came weeks after Salazar sharply criticized the administration's immigration policy in a campaign ad.
The contest for Florida's 27th District between Salazar and Democrat Eliott Rodríguez appears closer than it did earlier in the year. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan elections forecaster, moved the race in late September to "lean Republican" from "likely Republican," according to EL PAÍS.
Salazar's break with Trump over immigration enforcement drew criticism from the MAGA wing of the Republican Party and from parts of South Florida, her home turf, where some argued her message came too late and reflected a change in tone driven by the approaching election.
Virtual rallies and a Michigan dispute
Trump scheduled six virtual rallies for Saturday afternoon. The first was aimed at Republicans running in Pennsylvania, the second at Ohio and the third at Florida, EL PAÍS reports. The president had no in-person events planned for Saturday; he was set to resume them Sunday with stops in Iowa and Kansas.
In Michigan, Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers told reporters he would welcome Rep. Haley Stevens at a campaign event if she wanted to join, CNN reported, per EL PAÍS. Rogers, who is running against progressive Abdul El-Sayed, said he had not asked her and that the two had not discussed it, adding that he did not want to get involved in the renewed Democratic dispute.
Democrats had hoped to show unity in Michigan ahead of the election, with El-Sayed and Stevens, his former primary rival, expected to appear together at a Sunday campaign event. That plan fell apart after Stevens posted a statement on social media criticizing her former opponent again and calling on him to condemn a campaign ad, which he was not directly involved with, that links U.S. support for Israel to rising prices, the Associated Press reported. The relationship between the two had already drawn attention after Stevens' partner said he would vote for Rogers in Tuesday's election.
A citizenship list under scrutiny in California
In California, 42 percent of the names the Trump administration placed on a list of suspected noncitizens who might vote in the midterms do not appear in the state's current voter records, according to an analysis by UCLA experts filed with a court and reported by EL PAÍS. The analysis was submitted as part of a lawsuit brought by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and a California voter, and it became possible after a judge on Friday ordered the government to provide the list of just over 20,000 names it believes are registered noncitizens.
The experts examined 20,930 names, and 8,880 of them were not found in California's voter rolls, the court filing states. The administration wants ballots cast by those it suspects of being noncitizens set aside, but courts have blocked the effort so far.
What to watch
Election Day is Tuesday, and the final early-voting totals, along with the court fight over the California list, will be the main markers to follow as the last ballots are cast.
