America votes on Tuesday. The wait for answers could be longer

While the outcome of Tuesday's US midterm elections will determine which party controls Congress, the final results may take days to emerge, with close contests and ballot-counting procedures likely to delay the declaration of winners.

Multiple agencies and news channels will call races across all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 Senate contests being held this year. However, the timing of those calls will depend on how close individual races are and how quickly states complete their vote counts.

To secure a majority in the House, a party needs at least 218 seats. Republicans currently have 219 members caucusing with them, just one above the majority threshold when all seats are filled. Two seats are vacant.


The Senate has a different threshold. Democrats need 51 seats to secure a majority, while Republicans can retain control with 50 because Vice President JD Vance can cast a tie-breaking vote. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 advantage in the chamber.

Past elections offer an indication of how long the counting process can take. In the 2022 midterms, AP declared control of the Senate four days after Election Day, while its call for the House came eight days later.

The 2024 presidential election cycle saw a quicker Senate call, with control determined a day after voting. However, the House result again took eight days to call.

Several states have counting procedures that can extend the wait for definitive results. California, the country's most populous state, routinely receives large numbers of mail ballots on Election Day. During the 2022 midterms, half of California's votes were counted after Election Day.

The use of ranked-choice voting in Alaska and Maine, both of which have important Senate contests this year, could also delay the final outcome.

Under this system, a candidate who secures more than 50% of first-choice votes wins outright. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the contender with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed according to voters' next preferences. The process continues until a candidate crosses the 50% mark.

Even though control of Congress is decided by clear numerical thresholds, the country may have to wait several days to know which party has secured the House and Senate.