Early Vote Tilt in Florida

3.5 million Floridians have already voted.

The University of Florida Election Lab reports 3,517,675 ballots cast through Tuesday. This total includes 1,934,427 in-person early votes and 1,583,248 returned mail ballots. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Six days remain for voters to cast ballots.

Campaigns are using these numbers to target unvoters. Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds spoke in Tallahassee on Tuesday. He told supporters his goal for the final week is clear. "Our mission over the next seven days is really simple. Just get out and vote," Donalds said. He emphasized turning out voters to continue Republican leadership in the state.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly also campaigned in Tallahassee on Tuesday. He focused on affordability, health care, and education. "The greatest concern right now is your personal economy," Jolly said. He asked if voters can afford their homes and where they get healthcare. He noted that the state abandoned public education. Jolly has made these three issues central to his closing argument. Increased utility costs and AI data center construction have also become key issues in this cycle.

In the nine-county FOX 13 viewing area, nearly 850,000 ballots have been cast. Hillsborough County leads the region with 221,900 ballots. Registered Democrats who have voted outnumber Republicans in Hillsborough by 15,893. Pinellas County recorded 182,704 ballots. Democrats hold a narrow registration advantage of 2,754 voters there.

Republicans lead among participants in Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Manatee, Pasco, and Sarasota counties. Polk County is nearly evenly divided. Of 94,469 voters who cast ballots there, 38,318 are registered Republicans and 38,186 are Democrats. The difference is 132 voters. Across all nine counties, 848,122 ballots have been cast. Registered Republicans account for 349,666 of those. Democrats account for 320,432. Another 178,024 voters are registered with a minor party or no major party.

The 2026 numbers compare with the 2022 midterm. More than 5 million Floridians voted before Election Day in 2022. That included about 2.77 million by mail and 2.29 million in-person. Florida is already above 3.5 million in 2026 with six days left. The 2026 total is still growing. It cannot yet be directly compared with the completed 2022 total.

Party registration does not reveal how a person voted. A registered Republican can vote for a Democrat. A registered Democrat can vote for a Republican. Voters without a major-party affiliation can vote for any candidate in the general election. Numbers will change as more Floridians vote early and additional mail ballots are returned.