When do they start counting votes in the US midterms? There is no single answer, because election counting is handled locally and varies by state. In some races, the result is clear quickly; in others, voters may wait hours, days or weeks.
This year, all 435 members of the House of Representatives, 33 Senate seats and governor’s offices in 36 states are on the ballot. That makes the counting timetable more visible, especially where close races hinge on mailed ballots, curing periods or later audits.
US vote counting rules
US voters cast ballots in person during early voting or on election day, and many millions also vote by mail. Some states send mail ballots to all voters. Others require a voter to request one, and some states count mailed ballots for days after election day so long as they are postmarked by election day.
The US supreme court recently upheld that practice. In some places, mail ballots that arrive on election day are tabulated in advance and released soon after polls close, usually about an hour after closure. Paper ballots are typically tabulated by machines, with partial hand counts and audits checking the results for accuracy.
MIT’s Election Data and Science Lab
Results are often uploaded in batches, which can make early totals move in steps rather than one finished count. In 2024, MIT’s Election Data and Science Lab noted that even the slowest-counting states had tabulated a majority of their votes within about eight hours, and all but California had counted more than 75% of votes after two days.
Tabulation can take longer in more populous places and in places that allow broader voting access, such as universal mail voting or curing periods. In those curing periods, voters can provide additional information or verify a signature on a mail ballot so the vote counts, and those ballots are often the last ones tabulated.
Donald Trump and close races
Results are not final until they are canvassed and certified by local authorities, but winners are often clear well before those deadlines. If a race falls within a very narrow margin, usually a fraction of a percent, it can trigger an automatic recount under state or local laws, and that can substantially delay the final result.
News organizations, most notably the, predict a winner from early, unofficial results, but they usually do not call races that fall within the automatic recount margin. Donald Trump, who has denied the results of his 2020 loss and other elections when he has not liked the results, is part of why the counting process draws scrutiny well before certification ends the race.
