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Republicans have opened a lead of more than 130,000 ballots over Democrats among votes already cast in Florida as in-person early voting came to an end on Friday, October 31, figures compiled from the Florida Division of Elections show.
About 4.9 million ballots had been cast statewide — roughly 3.01 million in person and 1.87 million returned by mail, according to the On Point Politics tracker, which draws on state election offices. A separate Division of Elections-based count put the total at 4,932,690 as of 12:52 p.m. on October 31.
By party registration, Republicans cast 40.6 percent of the ballots so far, Democrats 37.9 percent, and voters registered with no party or a third party 21.5 percent — a Republican edge of 2.8 points.
The split by voting method explains the lead: Republicans built their advantage at early-voting sites, while Democrats led among returned mail ballots. In the Division's October 28-29 snapshots, Republicans held an in-person advantage of roughly 158,000 to 184,000 ballots, while Democrats led mail returns by roughly 124,000 to 133,000.
The figures count ballots by the voter's party registration, not by the candidates they chose. A registered Republican can vote for a Democrat and vice versa, and Election Day voting on November 3 is still to come, so the early-vote lead does not decide any race.
All 67 counties offered in-person early voting from October 24 through October 31. Florida has about 13.7 million registered voters, and Republicans outnumber Democrats in registration by about 1.5 million.
Voters will decide the governor's race, a U.S. Senate seat, House races and a property-tax measure on November 3. The 2022 midterm drew about 7.8 million voters in Florida.