U.S.TOP STORY
Early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more vote
The AP analysis counts more than forty-three million early ballots, nearly ten million more than in twenty twenty-two; it does not show who got them.
Watch it as it aired: Chip Darnell and Vera Bullock on this story, from The Five O'Clock at 4:35 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are AP News's, the jokes are ours.

At a glance
- First reported by AP News: “Early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day”, with reporting from KRMG (AP), Fox59 (AP) and KDH News (AP).
- Covered on BBN on Friday, October 30, 2026, at 4:35 PM ET on The Five O'Clock, by Chip Darnell and Vera Bullock.
- Topics: Americans, Alaska Senate.
- BBN covered this story before: Americans expected to spend record $13.5B on Halloween, many on credit (October 28).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- AP NewsEarly voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day
- KRMG (AP)Early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day - 96.5 KRMG October 30, 2026 · facts used on air
- Fox59 (AP)Early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day October 30, 2026 · facts used on air
- KDH News (AP)Early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more Americans vote ahead of Election Day October 30, 2026 · facts used on air
What BBN said about it

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorMore than forty-three million Americans have already voted, which is nearly ten million more than at this point in twenty twenty-two, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThat's a turnout surge. In Texas early voting is up fifty percent, with six point three million ballots already in.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorHarris County alone had eight hundred sixty-two thousand seven hundred voters as of Wednesday, up from five hundred sixty-four thousand five hundred. Great news, right?

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI'd say it's a big participation moment, and I'd say the campaigns are thrilled to have such an engaged audience for their final, very loud week.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorBut hundreds of millions of dollars went into that Texas race. So what are the last few days of ads for?

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorReinforcement. The messaging is simply being thorough.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorMichigan is up about four hundred nine thousand votes, thirty-two percent, and Maine is up forty-four percent.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorAnd the AP says none of this shows who got the votes.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo everyone's winning until they open the boxes.
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- Early voting jumps across Senate battlegrounds as millions more vote (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Friday, October 30, 2026 · the U.S. archive · all months


Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: APK · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: United States Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Domenico Fetti · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Sergey Kondrashov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Chezki Mozes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0





