How midterm election results are counted, checked and called across the United States

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 – Americans may not know all the midterm election results on Tuesday night. Election officials say that some of the closest races could take days or even weeks to decide.

There’s no single answer to when the results will come in. Elections in the United States are administered by state and local authorities, with each state setting its own rules for how and when ballots are counted.

In races that are not competitive, a winner may become clear shortly after polls close. In closely contested elections, however, it can take much longer to determine the outcome.

There are several races on the ballot this year. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, along with 35 Senate seats, including special elections in Ohio and Florida, and governorships in 36 states. Thousands of state and local contests are also being decided.

The first polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern time in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, while the final polls close at 1 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

Voters can cast their ballots on Election Day, take advantage of early voting, or submit them by mail. Some states automatically send a ballot to every registered voter, while others require voters to request one.

In some states, mail ballots that arrive after Election Day are still counted, provided they were postmarked by Election Day. The Supreme Court upheld that practice in June.

In most places, machines count paper ballots. Partial hand counts and post-election audits are then used to verify that the machine totals are accurate.

Results are typically released in batches. In some jurisdictions, mail ballots received before Election Day are processed in advance, and their totals are released about an hour after polls close.

Many states also allow voters several days to correct problems with mail ballots, such as a missing signature or a signature that does not match the one on file. Those ballots are often among the last to be counted.

As a result, counting can take longer in large states and in states that make voting by mail especially accessible. Oregon, for example, counts ballots that arrive up to seven days after Election Day.

Even so, most votes are counted quickly. In 2024, even the slowest states had counted the majority of their ballots within about eight hours, according to the Election Data and Science Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Every state except California had counted more than 75 percent of its votes within two days.

However, results are not official until local election officials review and certify them. Extremely close races, usually those decided by a fraction of a percentage point, can trigger an automatic recount under state law, potentially delaying the final result by several weeks.

News organizations, led by the Associated Press, project election winners based on early, unofficial results. The Associated Press says it calls a race only when it is highly confident of the outcome.

Its decision desk examines local election rules, historical results, and patterns in how different types of ballots are reported. Races in districts where one party holds a strong advantage are often called shortly after polls close. News outlets generally avoid calling races that fall within the margin required for an automatic recount.

A media projection does not end the count. Every ballot must still be counted, verified, and officially certified by election authorities.

A supporter wears a cap with the American flag during a rally for US Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and US Representative Nick Begich (R-AK), a day before the US midterm election in Wasilla, Alaska, US November 2, 2026. REUTERS

Candidates often wait for the Associated Press and other major outlets to project a winner before declaring victory. In extremely close contests, however, some candidates may decline to concede even after a race has been called.

In 2024, the final House race was not called until December 3, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Election Lab.

Vote leads can shift as additional ballots are counted, and election officials say this is a normal part of the process. Republicans may initially lead in some areas before falling behind once mail-in ballots are tallied, or the reverse may occur.

The timing and order in which ballots are reported vary from state to state. These patterns have also changed in recent years, as public attitudes toward mail voting and the methods used to count ballots have evolved.

President Donald Trump and his allies have previously claimed, without providing evidence, that election officials “found” ballots or added fraudulent votes overnight to change the outcome of an election.

Trump has never accepted his 2020 defeat and has repeatedly challenged other election results he did not like. This year, his administration has sought to expand federal authority over elections, though courts have repeatedly blocked those efforts.

Many Democratic and independent voters say they worry that Trump could attempt to interfere with the counting of ballots or the certification of results. Republican voters, meanwhile, have become increasingly skeptical of election outcomes.

In 2020, Trump’s efforts to pressure election officials into overturning the results ultimately failed. However, more of his loyalists now hold positions of power than did at that time.

Despite those concerns, election officials across the country maintain that sufficient safeguards exist to prevent any attempt to overturn results, seize ballots, or disrupt the voting process. Courts have previously intervened to stop similar efforts.

Polls in Alaska close last, at 1 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, meaning the final results in some closely contested races may not be known until well after Election Day.