By Townhall Chicago News Staff
More than 23 million ballots had been cast nationwide by midday Friday, according to the University of Florida Election Lab, as early voting opened the same day in Michigan, Florida, New Jersey and New York.
The total includes more than 12 million absentee ballots and more than 10 million cast in person, according to the Election Lab’s count, a pace that points to high turnout ahead of the November midterm elections.
“The University of Florida Election Lab reported midday Friday more than 23 million ballots had already been cast, more than 12 million absentees and more than 10 million in person,” Fox News correspondent Jessica Rosenthal said in a report aired on the broadcast.
Fox News anchor Deborah Valentine said early voting began Friday in the four states. “Early voting begins today in Michigan, Florida, New Jersey and New York,” Valentine said.
The early vote count was cited during the broadcast alongside coverage of President Donald Trump’s multi-state campaign trip and competitive Senate races in Michigan and Minnesota, races Republicans and Democrats alike have identified as pivotal to control of the chamber this cycle.
Trump campaigned Friday in Georgia with additional stops planned in Florida, Michigan, Mississippi and Texas before Election Day, according to a separate report aired on the same broadcast. Michigan’s open Senate seat and Minnesota’s Senate race, tied in part to a state Medicaid fraud scandal, were each cited as races likely to be shaped by early turnout.
Specific early voting deadlines vary by state and were not detailed in the broadcast segment. Voters in Michigan, Florida, New Jersey and New York can confirm their state’s early voting window through their state election authority ahead of the November general election.
The early voting totals reported by the University of Florida Election Lab reflect ballots cast nationwide, not limited to the four states that opened early voting Friday. Several other states, including Michigan and Minnesota, had early voting already underway ahead of their competitive Senate races.
Election officials in the four states opening early voting Friday have not yet released turnout figures specific to their states, according to the broadcast segment. National totals are expected to continue climbing through Election Day in November as more states open in-person early voting and absentee ballots are returned by mail.
Trump, meanwhile, continued his own five-state campaign swing Friday, a sign each party views the final days of early voting as critical to the outcome of several close Senate races.
