US midterm elections 2026: Why election night results may not be final, and what happens next

Election Day is only one element of the US midterms. The news will be starting to report results on the 3rd of November, but voters should not be under any illusion that every race will be decided that day. Election officials still have ballots to count, signatures to verify and results to certify. In some states there's also a window for mail in ballots (postmarked by Election Day) to arrive after the election and still be counted.

Here's what voters need to know about election night results, mail voting and the steps that follow prior to the final numbers being certified, as per a report by Bipartisan Policy Center.

Why are election night results unofficial

The numbers that you see on TV and on the news sites on election night are not the final numbers at all. They are early numbers which will obviously change as the various election officials continue to count. The BPC makes it clear that no state will complete the count of every vote by November 3rd. The time it will take to complete the count will vary from state to state depending on the rules in each state and the number of ballots that still need to be processed.

Mail in voting is one of the reasons results can take so long. In some states the ballot has to arrive by Election Day, in others it just has to have a postmark dated 3rd November. In the latter case some of the votes may not actually arrive until several days later and still count.

Early and in person ballots also take time to process. Some states can start counting the mail ballots before Election Day, others can't start until election evening.

This can also have an impact on who appears to be leading. The mail in and the in person votes don't always follow the same pattern. A candidate who is leading early on may well lose that lead once the additional mail ballots are all counted. That's just part of the state's election process and doesn't in itself indicate any problem.

What happens after the polls close?

The work doesn't stop when the voters have left the polling places. The officials have to account for every ballot, check the signatures and ensure that the votes have come from the people who are actually entitled to vote. They also carry out audits to check the results. In some states there is a requirement for an automatic recount if the margin in a race is extremely close. Once the requisite checks have been carried out the results are certified.

The FEC also makes a very important distinction as to what it does. It administers the federal campaign finance laws but it does not have any role in voting rules, voter fraud claims, election results or the Electoral College. That's all state and local election offices.

For official results, voters should go to their state election office. The FEC compiles results from past federal elections using the figures that the various states and territories report to it, but it doesn't provide the election night results.

How can voters prepare before November 3

Before Election Day voters should check their registration and make a plan to vote. A visit to a state or local election office's website will help them find out where the polling places are, what the voting hours are and what requirements they may have. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is also the nation's primary source of information on election administration. Military personnel, their families and Americans abroad can access voting assistance via the Federal Voting Assistance Program. The 120th Congress will be sworn in in January 2027 and counting, verification, audits and certification will all be part of the process to ensure that the final results are correct.