More than 43 million Americans have already voted, millions ahead of the 2022 pace

Early voting in the midterm elections has run well ahead of 2022, with more than 43 million ballots cast in person or by mail five days before Election Day, according to an Associated Press analysis cited by Al Jazeera.

That is nearly 10 million more than at the same point four years ago. CBS News, citing the University of Florida Election Lab, put the total above 44 million as of Thursday afternoon.

Where turnout is up

The AP analysis found early voting up more than 30% over 2022 in Maine, Michigan, North Carolina and Kansas, Al Jazeera reported. Several of those states have competitive Senate races.

In Minneapolis, officials accepted 52,661 early and absentee ballots, a record for a year without a presidential race, CBS News reported. The previous mark was 52,313 in 2018.

What it does and does not mean

Early turnout shows how many people have voted, not how they voted or who will win, Al Jazeera noted.

Al Jazeera reported that Democrats lead the RealClearPolling average of the national congressional ballot, 51.4% to 43.2%. CBS News reported that Republicans hold 53 Senate seats to Democrats' 47.

Polls open Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters can check hours and locations with their state or local election office.