POLITICS · ELECTION DAY
Election Day 2026: What Is on the Ballot and When Will We Know?
All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are up, more than 50 million Americans have already voted, and the final answer may take days. A short, sourced guide to Election Day.
Transcript of the video edition
It is Election Day, and control of Congress is on the ballot. Here is what to know.
All four hundred thirty-five House seats and thirty-five Senate seats are up. Republicans now hold the Senate, fifty-three to forty-seven, so Democrats need a net gain of four.
More than fifty million Americans have already voted, well ahead of the last midterms.
Republican leaders warn that margins are thin. House Speaker Mike Johnson noted that Republicans won ten races in twenty twenty-four by six thousand votes or fewer.
A final answer may not come tonight. Some states count mail ballots for days, and experts say slow counts are normal.
Sources
- CBS News live updates, Nov 3, 2026: all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats on the ballot; Senate 53 Republicans, 47 Democrats; more than 59 million early votes per the University of Florida Voting Lab; Speaker Mike Johnson on thin margins and 10 races won by 6,000 votes or fewer in 2024; control may not be known on election night
- Associated Press via PBS NewsHour, Oct 30, 2026: more than 43 million early votes five days out, nearly 10 million more than in 2022; Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats
- New York Times and Wall Street Journal live coverage, Nov 2-3, 2026: about 50 million ballots already cast, early voting above 2022 levels in major Senate battlegrounds
- U.S. News and Al Jazeera, Nov 3, 2026: some states count mail ballots for days after Election Day, so close races can take time to call
This video edition was scripted with automated tools from the sources listed, narrated by a synthetic voice and published by Daniel Varrone. Corrections: editor@monochromechronicles.com