Election results will likely take a few days or even weeks to be finalized
Be prepared for midterm election results to take days or even weeks to be announced.
Back in 2020, it took a full week for President Biden to be declared winner, largely due to the number of early votes and mail-in ballots that usually get counted after the day-of votes. While it should not take as long this time given that midterm elections tend to have lower voter turnout than presidential elections, some close races may trigger recounts or even a runoff election, reports The New York Times. Mail-in ballots also need to be processed and some may arrive after Nov. 8.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Because of the speculation, an Arizona right-wing advocacy group patrolled ballot drop-boxes with guns, even going so far as taking pictures of voters, behavior that a judge promptly barred. Pennsylvania is also putting aside any ballots that don't have a date on them, which many Democrats view as a means of voter suppression.
Despite this, election fraud is actually rare with numerous studies finding that mail-in ballots are actually more secure since the voter handles the entire process.
-
Is the Gaza peace plan destined to fail?Today’s Big Question Since the ceasefire agreement in October, the situation in Gaza is still ‘precarious’, with the path to peace facing ‘many obstacles’
-
Vietnam’s ‘balancing act’ with the US, China and EuropeIn the Spotlight Despite decades of ‘steadily improving relations’, Hanoi is still ‘deeply suspicious’ of the US as it tries to ‘diversify’ its options
-
Best UK fashion exhibitions in 2026The Week Recommends See much-loved and intriguing items from designers and style icons right where they belong: on display
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
How realistic is the Democratic plan to retake the Senate this year?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Schumer is growing bullish on his party’s odds in November — is it typical partisan optimism, or something more?
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
