California Early Voting Tops 2022 by 1M as Napa County Races Near

Californians have cast roughly 1 million more early votes in the 2026 midterm election than at the same point in 2022, according to data from the election data firm PDI reported by Ben Paviour of The Sacramento Bee in the Napa Valley Register, as voters across Napa County cast ballots in municipal, school board, college trustee, and congressional contests summarized by Managing Editor Samie Hartley in the Napa Valley Register.

Paul Mitchell, who leads PDI, said that if current trends hold, statewide turnout will reach 61%, up from 50% in 2022. While the 2018 midterm election recorded a 63% turnout rate among a smaller pool of registered voters, Mitchell noted that California has added a large number of lower-propensity registrants since then, putting the 2026 election on pace to set a raw-ballot midterm record.

Demographic and Regional Early Voting Trends

Compiled from California voter files, PDI's early ballot tracking shows increases across multiple voter groups and regions:

• Latino and White Voter Turnout: Latino voters recorded the sharpest increase in early voting compared with 2022, rising 4 percentage points to 14% of registered Latino voters. Turnout among white voters rose 3 percentage points to 26%.
• Inland Empire and 22nd Congressional District: Mitchell reported higher early voting in Southern California's heavily Latino Inland Empire region and turnout roughly double 2022 levels in the Central Valley's 22nd Congressional District — one of several districts redrawn by Mitchell on behalf of Democrats after voters passed Proposition 50 last year — where Democrat Randy Villegas is challenging Republican Rep. David Valadao of Hanford.
• Late-Stage Ballot Implications: Election analysts noted that later-arriving ballots typically skew younger and more left-leaning, a cohort that could influence close contests such as the Sacramento race between Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, as well as the final margin on Proposition 40, the one-time wealth tax on billionaires.

Key Contests Across Napa County

Across Napa County, voters are deciding city, town, congressional, and education races ahead of Election Day:

• Congressional District 4 & Napa City Council District 3: Incumbent Rep. Mike Thompson is seeking reelection in Congressional District 4 against challenger Eric Jones. On the Napa City Council, District 3 incumbent Mary Luros faces challenger Jim Hinton.
• Yountville & American Canyon Municipal Races: In Yountville, Mayor Marjorie Mohler is seeking reelection against challenger Joe Tagliaboschi, while Town Council incumbents Robin McKee and Hillery Bolt Trippe face challengers including Jessi Bugden. In American Canyon, incumbent City Councilmember David Oro is running for reelection alongside candidates Sindy Biederman, Jason Kishineff, Jim Giron, and Robert Cole.
• Napa Valley Unified School District & Napa Valley College: In the Napa Valley Unified School District, Area 1 incumbent Robin Jankiewicz faces Matthew McMann, Area 6 incumbent Elba Gonzalez-Mares faces Tyrone Navarro, and Jason Dooley, David Hildebrandt, and John Houser are competing for an open seat in Area 7. At Napa Valley College, incumbent Jeff Dodd is challenged by Heriverto Ruiz, Elizabeth Goff, Emily Pastula, and Karina Servente are running for an open seat in Area 3, and Area 4 incumbent W. Kyle Iverson is challenged by Cindy Johnson.