The upcoming midterm elections appear to be some of the most closely watched in history, with interest sparking in a non-presidential ticket like never before. This appears evident from the current pace of voter turnout, which appears primed to shatter previous records, Axios reported Saturday.
November's election is already on pace with the 2018 midterms, which had a similar level of interest. CNN says more than 5.8 million ballots have already been cast in early voting across 39 states. By this date in 2018, just over 5 million people had voted early, suggesting there will likely be a continued record pace when it comes to early voting this year.
The upcoming elections may also set a new record for the total number of votes cast in a midterm year. Over 122 million people voted in the 2018 midterm elections, according to the Pew Research Center, the highest turnout in a midterm since 1978. If the current pace of early voting continues, the 2022 midterms appear likely to pass that figure.
Axios noted that a number of states are already seeing record-breaking early voting, particularly in two key battleground states, Georgia and Ohio.
According to WAGA-TV in Atlanta, the state of Georgia has already seen first-day early voting numbers that were twice as high as in 2018. In Ohio, meanwhile, the Columbus Dispatch reported nearly 945,000 people had already voted early or requested a mail-in ballot in the first week, a 2.7 percent increase from 2018.