The Scoreboard Is Dark. The Ballot Count Isn't.
Nine days out, Florida's early vote is close to dead even despite a 1.5 million-voter Republican registration edge, and Michigan's Senate race is inside the margin. Here is what the official numbers show and what they don't.
By Clara Hughes
Nobody knows who is winning the midterms. Not the networks, not the pundits, not the people who build models. No ballot is counted until polls close on Tuesday, Nov. 3. What we do have are official counts of who has voted so far, plus a stack of polls. Read honestly, those numbers say one thing: this election is still up for grabs, and the side that turns out its voters over the next nine days will decide it. On Saturday, President Trump cast his ballot in person at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office and told reporters he voted the Republican line "very much so." Here is what the numbers look like in the two states we're watching most closely. Florida: a big registration lead, and nearly even ballots so far Start with the Sunshine State, because the numbers there are the most striking. According to the Florida Division of Elections' statewide report, compiled at 8:06 a.m. ET Sunday, about 2.6 million Floridians have already voted: 1,378,626 by mail and 1,224,187 in person at early voting sites. By party registration, the split is close to even: Registered Republicans: 1,032,302 ballots (493,531 by mail, 538,771 early in person) Registered Democrats: 1,034,980 ballots (591,224 by mail, 443,756 early in person) No party affiliation: 471,999 · Minor parties: 63,532 Democrats