We’re one week out from Election Day — the end of voting in the 2026 midterm elections. As of today, even a full week before Election Day, tens of millions of people have already cast their ballot.
The Movement Voter Fund (MVF) set out earlier this year to generate a historic early vote turnout. With growing momentum about voting in the midterm elections and widespread opposition to federal attempts to subvert mail-in voting, MVF seized the early vote opportunity as one of the best ways to keep voters and the election safe.
We organized and supported hundreds of partners to host early vote events and talk to voters about why voting early is important, and our plan is working! All across the country, 2026 early vote turnout is outpacing the same time period in 2022 by double digits.
Here’s a round up of what MVF and our partners are leading across the country.
Screenshot: Minnesota organizers hold a press conference promoting the first day of early voting on September 18, 2026.
Minnesota sets the stage – again!
At the start of the year, in response to the ICE occupation of the Twin Cities, MVF Minnesota partners like Unidos MN Education Fund and ISAIAH showed the country what it looks like when neighbors stand together in resistance.
On Friday, September 18, Minnesotans once again demonstrated how to gather in community in support of democracy. As the first state in the nation to begin early, in-person voting, they kicked off election season with a press conference the day before, followed by rallies inside the Hennepin County Board of Elections on Friday.
Nearly 420,000 people have voted early in Minnesota — a significant increase from the roughly 280,000 ballots cast during the same time period in 2022. Voters’ spirit of joyful defiance is a direct result of how Minnesotans have continued to find their strength in collective action.
Using cultural power to build early voting momentum
MVF partner Poder Latinx Collective Fund led coordination of Vote Early Day, a day of action on October 24 to drive mass early vote turnout by integrating cultural organizing and civic engagement. This year, Vote Early Day mobilized schools, churches, labor unions, consulates, media partners, businesses, and community organizations. Alongside 400 local events, Poder Latinx Collective Fund hosted seven flagship events, from Yakima Valley in Washington State to Orlando, FL, each celebrating cultural pride to motivate communities to vote early.
That momentum has been carried into Vote Early Week (Oct. 25-30), with MVF partners turning voting into a collective action. Hundreds of Souls to the Polls events mobilized voters to cast their ballot after church services this past Sunday, and, during the week, college and university campus early vote activations are turning young people out to the ballot box.
These events send a clear message: Our culture is beautiful, our community is united, and our voice is powerful. This message creates positive public spectacles that build momentum through early voting and into Election Day.
Photo: MVF partner New Voters in Pennsylvania register high school seniors to vote and talk to them about how to make their voices heard at the polls.
Young people take charge
Early voting among young people is surging on high school and college campuses.
As part of #PartyAtThePolls, coordinated by MVF partner When We All Vote, students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, an HBCU, marched with its famous marching band en masse to the polls.
On October 17, 12 high school students in Chester County, PA, volunteered with MVF partner New Voters to help their communities vote early. During the event, they put their organizing skills to work and spoke with 300 community members walking by to encourage them to vote and navigate Pennsylvania’s ad-hoc early voting process. Only one of the volunteers at the event is eligible to vote in 2026, but all are confident in their ability to make a difference, even before they can vote themselves.
Organizers are also using the most relevant issues in young people’s lives to mobilize them to vote early. MVF partner United for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE) organizes students on campuses across the country on reproductive healthcare access, and is encouraging young people to vote early as a concrete way to impact this salient issue.
Screenshot: MVF partner Ohio Voice collaborated with online creators to encourage Ohioans to vote early in the midterms.
Creating an early voting surround sound
Voters often need to hear from trusted messengers, both in-person and online, to take action. That’s why MVF supported partners to create a digital “surround sound” about early voting, so voters would see positive content about early voting in their social media feeds.
MVF funded state and local efforts to reach voters in many digital channels. These local content creators can tell voters the specifics about voting early in their states and municipalities, which is helpful since early voting varies widely from place to place.
In Ohio, MVF partner Ohio Voice has housed a cohort of state-based content creators to promote early voting on digital channels. MVF partner Disturbing Inequity launched a content creator cohort in Alabama to popularize early voting as a way to resist the attacks on Black voters’ power in the South following the Louisiana v. Callais Supreme Court decision.
Nationally, MVF supported Civics Made Easy to create a series about early voting and voter access in sponsorship with PBS. MVF partner Toolbox For Change monitors Reddit to challenge false election narratives and promote early voting.
Photo: Students at HBCU North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University during Party at the Polls hosted by MVF partner When We All Vote.
What’s next
After the early voting period ends, MVF and our partners will have motivated millions to vote early and created public momentum and enthusiasm for the midterm elections. Of course, voters with FOMO from missing the early voting period will still have the chance to vote on Election Day.
After the midterm elections, MVF and our partners are prepared to channel this momentum into mobilizations to protect the election from potential interference. The infrastructure and relationships that resulted in historic early voting turnout, from local events to content creator networks, can be repurposed to defend democracy and organize in 2027 and beyond. From Minnesotans’ response to ICE in January to the historic push for early voting, organizers are showing how we can stand up for democracy together, one pressure test at a time.
