More than 42 million Americans have cast early midterm ballots
Katherine oversees editorial operations across all six brands. Before joining The Meridan Group, she spent 14 years at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she led the metro desk through its digital transformation. She holds a Master's in Journalism from Northwestern's Medill School.
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WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - More than 42 million Americans have cast midterm ballots, and interesting demographic data shows who is voting.According to the University of Florida Election Lab, early midterm turnout is similar to the 2018 “blue wave.” The lab said enthusiasm appears to be on the Democrats’ side.Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political scientist, said the U.S. could be headed toward record turnout.“It’s possible that we will beat the 2018 turnout rate. That was the highest turnout rate for midterm elections since 1914. But there are uneven patterns of turnout,” McDonald said.McDonald said the uneven turnout levels come from a partisan divide.“Registered Democrats, unaffiliated, those people who don’t have a party registration, are engaged at the moment. But registered Republicans are not as much,” McDonald said.Democrats account for 44% of early votes, compared with about 31% for Republicans.McDonald said the early voting rate has increased this cycle for young vote