Turnout for early voting exceeding 2014 totals in at least 27 states

Early voter turnout in this year’s midterm elections is surpassing early voting totals for the 2014 midterm election cycle in at least 27 states, according to the University of Florida Elections Project. 

The project noted that the states where early voter turnout is higher than 2014’s early voter totals include Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., as first reported by CBS News. 

{mosads}CBS News notes that early voter turnout in Texas has surpassed the state’s total turnout in the 2014 midterms. 

“In the last three decades, we’ve had about 40 percent of those eligible to vote participating in midterm elections,” University of Florida associate professor Michael McDonald, who oversees the Election Project, told CBS News. “If we get in the upper end of that range, if we can beat the 1966 49 percent turnout rate, you’d have to go all the way back to 1914 to get a turnout rate above 50 percent.”

More than 24 million votes had been counted as early or absentee nationwide as of Wednesday, according to NBC News. The news outlet noted that at the same time in 2014, less than 13 million early or absentee ballots had been counted. 

The news regarding early voting comes just days before what could be a key midterm election, as Democrats try to seize on opposition to President Trump to retake the House and possibly the Senate. 

Polls have shown Democrats have a solid chance of earning a majority in the lower chamber. Meanwhile, Republicans appear to be the favorites to hold onto their majority in the Senate. 

Many of the states that are experiencing surges in early voting have key elections this year. 

In Texas, Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) is vying to unseat incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).  

States such as Florida and Georgia also have governor races that have gained national attention. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-Tenn.) retirement have also led to closely-watched races to replace them.