{ "id": "2026-united-states-elections", "title": "2026 United States elections", "lang": "en", "source_lang": "en", "summary": "The 2026 U.S. election cycle encompasses congressional, state, territorial, and local contests, with most general elections scheduled for November 3.", "category": "society", "subcategory": "politics", "type": "event", "aliases": [ "2026 U.S. elections", "2026 US elections", "2026 United States midterm elections", "2026 U.S. midterm elections" ], "generated_at": "2026-10-14", "model": "pro/gpt-6.1-sol", "url": "https://aiwiki.page/en/2026-united-states-elections/", "translations": { "zh-Hans": { "url": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/2026-united-states-elections/", "json": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/2026-united-states-elections.json" } }, "sections": [ { "heading": "", "text": "The 2026 United States elections comprise federal, state, territorial, and local elections held during the year, with most general elections scheduled for November 3, 2026. The federal contests cover all 435 voting seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate seats scheduled for election, forming the congressional component of the country's midterm elections. As of October 15, 2026, the November general elections have not yet occurred. (fec.gov)\n\nThe cycle also includes gubernatorial elections in 36 states and three territories, legislative elections in 46 states, and other state and local contests. These elections determine the membership of representative institutions and the holders of executive offices across the United States, while ballot measures allow voters to decide specified questions directly. The cycle encompasses candidate nominations, campaigning and campaign finance, voting administration, and the subsequent counting and certification of results; its congressional and state-level contests are distinct elections rather than a single nationwide vote. (nga.org)" }, { "heading": "Electoral setting and institutional stakes", "text": "The 2026 cycle is a United States midterm election, occurring between the presidential elections of 2024 and 2028. The November 3 general elections are distinct from the broader calendar-year cycle, which includes candidate-selection contests, special elections to fill vacancies, and local elections on other dates. Alaska, for example, scheduled its regional educational attendance area elections for October 6, separately from its November general election; congressional special elections also filled seats during the year. At the October 15, 2026, information cutoff, the November general elections remained pending. (elections.alaska.gov)\n\nThe certified 2024 results established the federal political baseline. In the November 5, 2024, presidential election, the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance received 312 electoral votes, against 226 for Democrats Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. The 2024 House elections returned 220 Republicans and 215 Democrats; the resulting Senate allocation was 53 Republican seats, 45 Democratic seats, and two independent seats. These election-derived allocations must be distinguished from membership on a particular date: resignations, deaths, delayed swearing-in, special elections, and changes of affiliation can alter the number of members actually serving without constituting a new nationwide election. (archives.gov)\n\nSubsequent membership changes therefore form part of the pre-election setting. The House Radio–Television Gallery’s September 2, 2026, update recorded 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, one independent, and two vacancies. Its vacancy record included Republican Tony Gonzales’s resignation on April 14 and Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation on April 21; other vacancies had been filled through special elections. California representative Kevin Kiley, elected as a Republican in 2024, was listed by the Clerk as an independent in 2026. In the Senate, the official June 10, 2026, calendar recorded 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents. Each dated tally describes membership or affiliation, rather than predicting the composition produced by November’s elections. (radiotv.house.gov)\n\nCongressional majorities affect chamber organization and the operation of separation of powers. The whole House elects its Speaker, while party organizations select their own leaders; leadership and committee arrangements influence which proposals reach consideration. Committees examine legislation and oversee executive agencies, programs, and activities. Control of one chamber does not confer unilateral lawmaking authority: ordinary legislation must pass both chambers in identical form and be presented to the president, with a presidential veto requiring a two-thirds vote in each chamber to override. Senate procedure imposes an additional distinction between passage and ending debate: cloture on ordinary legislation generally requires three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn, rather than a simple majority. (house.gov)\n\nThe Senate also has an appointment-confirmation function that the House does not share. Under the United States Constitution, presidential nominations to federal judgeships and specified executive offices require Senate advice and consent. Senate organization consequently affects the consideration of Cabinet officials, agency officers, ambassadors, and federal judges. Confirmation ordinarily requires a simple majority; precedents established in 2013 and 2017 also permit cloture on nominations by simple majority, distinguishing nomination proceedings from the usual legislative cloture threshold. (senate.gov)\n\nAt state level, unified government—often called a trifecta—means that one party controls the governorship and both legislative chambers; divided government exists when those institutions are not controlled by the same party. Numerical party strength nevertheless needs to be separated from governing coalitions. Alaska illustrates the distinction: the coalition formed after its 2024 House elections comprised 14 Democrats, five independents, and two Republicans, although Republicans had won 21 of the chamber’s 40 seats. As reported on September 29, 2026, this cross-party arrangement, rather than Republican affiliation alone, determined the governing majority. State elections thus concern both the partisan distribution of seats and the organizational agreements through which legislators choose leadership and conduct business. (multistate.us)" }, { "heading": "Election calendar and candidate nomination", "text": "The calendar below uses an October 15, 2026, information cutoff. It distinguishes primary elections, which select party nominees or qualifying candidates, from elections that fill an office. The November 3 general election and any subsequent general-election runoffs remained pending at that cutoff. Dates cover regular congressional primaries and, where applicable, concurrent statewide primaries; special elections follow separate schedules. Parentheses give congressional primary filing deadlines, not universal deadlines for every state office. State abbreviations follow postal usage; dates are in 2026 unless otherwise indicated. (fec.gov)\n\nPrimary date | Jurisdictions and congressional filing deadlines | Primary runoff, if required\nMarch 3 | AR (November 11, 2025); NC (December 19, 2025); TX (December 8, 2025) | AR: March 31; NC: May 12; TX: May 26\nMarch 10 | MS (December 26, 2025) | April 7\nMarch 17 | IL (November 3, 2025) | —\nMay 5 | IN (February 6); OH (February 4) | —\nMay 12 | NE (February 17 for incumbents; March 2 for others); WV (January 31) | —\nMay 16 | LA, U.S. Senate (January 14) | June 27\nMay 19 | AL, except House districts 1, 2, 6 and 7 (January 23); GA (March 6); ID (February 27); KY (January 9); OR (March 3 for incumbents; March 10 for others); PA (March 10) | AL and GA: June 16\nJune 2 | CA (March 6); IA (March 13); MT (March 4); NJ (March 23); NM (February 3); SD (March 31) | SD: July 28\nJune 9 | ME (March 16); NV (March 13); ND (April 6); SC (March 30) | SC: June 23\nJune 16 | DC (March 18); OK (April 3) | OK: August 25\nJune 23 | MD (February 24); NY (April 6); UT (March 13) | —\nJune 30 | CO (March 18) | —\nJuly 21 | AZ (March 23) | —\nAugust 1 | Guam (May 1); U.S. Virgin Islands (July 18) | —\nAugust 4 | KS (June 1); MI (April 21); MO (March 31); VA (April 2 for Senate; May 26 for House); WA (May 8) | —\nAugust 6 | TN (March 10) | —\nAugust 8 | HI (June 2) | —\nAugust 11 | AL, House districts 1, 2, 6 and 7 (May 22); CT (June 9); MN (June 2); VT (May 28); WI (June 1) | —\nAugust 18 | AK (June 1); FL (April 24); WY (May 29) | —\nSeptember 1 | MA (June 2) | —\nSeptember 8 | NH (June 12) | —\nSeptember 9 | RI (June 24) | —\nSeptember 15 | DE (July 14) | —\n\nPrimary dates and conditional runoff dates follow the state-calendar compilation; congressional filing dates follow the Federal Election Commission’s ballot-access schedule, with Alabama’s reopened qualifying period supplied by the governor’s proclamation. These filing dates do not encompass every preliminary declaration, petition-verification requirement, convention deadline or write-in procedure. (ncsl.org)\n\nLater election date | Scheduled event\nNovember 3 | General election; Louisiana’s all-candidate U.S. House election, termed an “open primary” under state law\nNovember 17 | U.S. Virgin Islands runoff, if required\nDecember 1 | Georgia general-election runoff, if required\nDecember 12 | Louisiana U.S. House runoff, if required\n\nLouisiana’s November House ballot can itself elect a candidate receiving a majority; otherwise the leading two proceed to December 12. Georgia likewise requires a runoff when no candidate receives a majority in the general election. These are office-filling contests, not additional party-nomination rounds. (fec.gov)\n\nNomination procedures were not uniform. In partisan primaries, candidates compete for a political party’s nomination, subject to jurisdiction-specific participation rules. Louisiana’s 2026 Senate contest used its newly implemented closed-party framework: registered Democrats and Republicans received their respective party ballots, while “No Party” voters could choose either and had to retain that choice for any primary runoff. California and Washington instead used nonpartisan qualifying primaries for congressional contests: the leading two candidates advanced regardless of party preference, potentially producing a same-party general election. Alaska advanced four candidates from a single primary ballot; its general election used ranked-choice voting. A qualifying finish in these systems was not a party nomination or election to office. (sos.la.gov)\n\nConventions and petitions provided additional routes. Utah’s qualified-party candidates could pursue nomination through conventions, signature gathering, or both; its filing windows differed by office, closing January 8 for noncongressional partisan candidates but March 13 for U.S. House candidates. Independent candidacies also involved distinct stages: Texas required a declaration of intent by December 8, 2025, followed by an application and supporting petition by June 25, 2026. Thus, a later petition deadline did not eliminate an earlier declaration requirement. California’s voter-nominated offices offered no separate independent route around the primary. (vote.utah.gov)\n\nDocumented calendar changes affected specific offices. Arizona moved its primary from August 4 to July 21. Virginia’s February 20 enactment moved all primaries for November-ballot offices from June 16 to August 4, while changing House filing deadlines separately from those for other offices. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s May 12 proclamation moved only House districts 1, 2, 6 and 7 to August 11 and reopened major-party qualifying for May 20–22; the Senate, gubernatorial and other unaffected primaries retained May 19. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry suspended the May 16 and June 27 House nomination elections; subsequent legislation placed House contests on the November–December all-candidate schedule, without moving the Senate primary. (fec.gov)" }, { "heading": "United States House of Representatives elections", "text": "All 435 voting seats in the United States House of Representatives are contested in the 2026 cycle for two-year terms beginning January 3, 2027. November 3 is the principal election date; Louisiana’s revised House schedule provides for voting on November 3 and, where necessary, December 12. As of October 15, 2026, these full-term elections remain pending. Elections completing terms in the 119th Congress are separate contests, including where a special-election winner also seeks a full term. (house.gov)\n\nState and district coverage\n\nThe distribution of seats continues to follow the 2020 census apportionment. Six states elect one representative statewide; every other state elects representatives from numbered single-member districts. The following inventory accounts for all 435 voting seats. “At-large” means the entire state, not an additional seat alongside numbered districts. All listed full-term contests are pending at the October 15 cutoff. (census.gov)\n\nState | Districts contested | Seats | State | Districts contested | Seats\nAlabama | 1–7 | 7 | Montana | 1–2 | 2\nAlaska | At-large | 1 | Nebraska | 1–3 | 3\nArizona | 1–9 | 9 | Nevada | 1–4 | 4\nArkansas | 1–4 | 4 | New Hampshire | 1–2 | 2\nCalifornia | 1–52 | 52 | New Jersey | 1–12 | 12\nColorado | 1–8 | 8 | New Mexico | 1–3 | 3\nConnecticut | 1–5 | 5 | New York | 1–26 | 26\nDelaware | At-large | 1 | North Carolina | 1–14 | 14\nFlorida | 1–28 | 28 | North Dakota | At-large | 1\nGeorgia | 1–14 | 14 | Ohio | 1–15 | 15\nHawaii | 1–2 | 2 | Oklahoma | 1–5 | 5\nIdaho | 1–2 | 2 | Oregon | 1–6 | 6\nIllinois | 1–17 | 17 | Pennsylvania | 1–17 | 17\nIndiana | 1–9 | 9 | Rhode Island | 1–2 | 2\nIowa | 1–4 | 4 | South Carolina | 1–7 | 7\nKansas | 1–4 | 4 | South Dakota | At-large | 1\nKentucky | 1–6 | 6 | Tennessee | 1–9 | 9\nLouisiana | 1–6 | 6 | Texas | 1–38 | 38\nMaine | 1–2 | 2 | Utah | 1–4 | 4\nMaryland | 1–8 | 8 | Vermont | At-large | 1\nMassachusetts | 1–9 | 9 | Virginia | 1–11 | 11\nMichigan | 1–13 | 13 | Washington | 1–10 | 10\nMinnesota | 1–8 | 8 | West Virginia | 1–2 | 2\nMississippi | 1–4 | 4 | Wisconsin | 1–8 | 8\nMissouri | 1–8 | 8 | Wyoming | At-large | 1\n\nAn incumbent’s retirement, departure for another office, and loss of nomination are distinct statuses. The House Clerk’s October 1 retirement list identifies, among others, Julia Brownley in California’s 26th district, Vern Buchanan in Florida’s 16th, Danny Davis in Illinois’s 7th, Steny Hoyer in Maryland’s 5th, Don Bacon in Nebraska’s 2nd, Mark Amodei in Nevada’s 2nd, Dwight Evans in Pennsylvania’s 3rd, and Jodey Arrington in Texas’s 19th. Its separately maintained list of members running for other offices includes Andy Barr of Kentucky’s 6th for Senate, Andy Biggs of Arizona’s 5th for governor, Byron Donalds of Florida’s 19th for governor, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire’s 1st for Senate, and Harriet Hageman of Wyoming’s at-large district for Senate. These classifications describe the members’ departures from their existing seats, not the outcome of the replacement elections. (clerk.house.gov)\n\nCertified ballot status must likewise be distinguished from a campaign announcement or federal fundraising registration: the Federal Election Commission’s candidate database records federal filings, whereas election authorities determine ballot access. California certified its November candidate list on August 27, covering all 52 House districts. Wyoming’s published general-election roster supplies the following complete ballot listing for its single House contest. Party abbreviations are R, Republican; D, Democratic; L, Libertarian; and C, Constitution. (fec.gov)\n\nState and district | Incumbent | General-election candidates on the official roster | Status on October 15\nWyoming, at-large | Harriet Hageman (R), seeking the Senate | Chuck Gray (R); Lisa Kinney (D); Shawn Johnson (L); Jeffrey Haggit (C) | Open-seat election pending\n\nApplicable district boundaries\n\nRedistricting changes district boundaries without changing a state’s apportioned number of representatives. Nine states are using congressional boundaries different from those used in 2024: Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. A current-member directory is therefore not, by itself, a description of the constituencies voting in 2026. The House’s representative-finding service expressly distinguishes districts represented during the current Congress from districts used to elect the next Congress. (apnews.com)\n\nCalifornia’s Proposition 50 maps apply to the 2026 congressional primary and general elections and are scheduled for use through 2030, until replacement maps follow the next census. They do not alter state legislative districts. On February 4, 2026, the Supreme Court denied the application for an injunction pending appeal in Tangipa v. Newsom, leaving the congressional maps available for the election; that denial was not a final merits judgment resolving every possible challenge. In Texas, the Court’s April 27 order in Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens reversed the district-court judgment against the new map, referring to its earlier 2025 decision. These operative orders, rather than an earlier injunction or an unadjudicated allegation, determine the immediate electoral position. (sos.ca.gov)\n\nSpecial elections for unexpired terms\n\nUnder Article I of the United States Constitution, House vacancies are filled by election rather than gubernatorial appointment. The following contests concern unexpired terms ending January 3, 2027. The Texas 18th-district runoff completed an election that began in November 2025; it is included because its decisive round occurred in 2026. Dates and election stages follow the FEC’s calendar, while completed successions follow the House Historian’s record. (history.house.gov)\n\nDistrict | Vacancy | Election dates in 2026 | Position by October 15\nCalifornia 1 | Doug LaMalfa (R), died in January | June 2; an August 4 runoff had been scheduled if required | James Gallagher (R) elected June 2\nCalifornia 14 | Eric Swalwell (D), resigned April 14 | June 16; August 18 runoff | Aisha Wahab (D) elected August 18\nFlorida 20 | Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D), resigned April 21 | No date listed in the FEC calendar | Vacancy; election date undetermined\nGeorgia 13 | David Scott (D), died April 22 | July 28; August 25 runoff | Everton Blair Jr. (D) elected August 25\nGeorgia 14 | Marjorie Taylor Greene (R), resigned January 5 | March 10; April 7 runoff | Clay Fuller (R) elected April 7\nNew Jersey 11 | Mikie Sherrill (D), resigned November 20, 2025 | February 5 primary; April 16 general | Analilia Mejia (D) elected April 16\nTexas 18 | Sylvester Turner (D), died March 5, 2025 | January 31 runoff | Christian Menefee (D) elected January 31\nTexas 23 | Tony Gonzales (R), resigned April 14 | No date listed in the FEC calendar | Vacancy; election date undetermined\n\nThe House recorded Gallagher’s admission on June 10, Wahab’s on September 2, Blair’s on September 1, Fuller’s on April 14, Mejia’s on April 20, and Menefee’s on February 2. Their special-election victories filled the existing congressional term; they did not award the separate 2027–2029 term. (history.house.gov)\n\nDistrict of Columbia and territorial representation\n\nThe five delegate offices are outside the 435 voting-seat total. The District of Columbia and four territories elect delegates for two-year terms; Puerto Rico elects a resident commissioner for four years and has no regularly scheduled election for that office in 2026. Delegates are not voting representatives in the full House. The following table separates these offices from state congressional districts. (house.gov)\n\nJurisdiction | Serving member | Office and 2026 ballot status\nDistrict of Columbia | Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) | Delegate; November 3 election pending\nAmerican Samoa | Aumua Amata (R) | Delegate; November 3 election pending\nGuam | James Moylan (R) | Delegate; November 3 election pending\nNorthern Mariana Islands | Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R) | Delegate; November 3 election pending\nU.S. Virgin Islands | Stacey Plaskett (D) | Delegate; November 3 election pending\nPuerto Rico | Pablo José Hernández Rivera (D) | Resident commissioner; no regular 2026 contest\n\nAmerican Samoa’s certified delegate candidates are Aumua Amata, Fualaau Rosie Tago Lancaster, Meleagi Suitonu Chapman, Samana Semo Veavea, Sandra King Young, and Tuifagaloa Dr. Afu Lefaoseu. The Northern Mariana Islands’ certified list contains incumbent Kimberlyn Kay King-Hinds, a Republican, and independent Galvin Sablan Deleon Guerrero. The House Clerk separately lists Virgin Islands delegate Stacey Plaskett as running for governor, distinguishing her departure from an ordinary incumbent reelection campaign. (aselectionoffice.gov)" }, { "heading": "United States Senate elections", "text": "The regular elections scheduled for November 3, 2026, cover all 33 Class II seats in the United States Senate. Their existing terms expire on January 3, 2027; the elections fill six-year terms ending January 3, 2033. The three-class rotation originates in Article I, section 3 of the United States Constitution, while the Seventeenth Amendment provides for direct election. Two additional Class III seats, in Florida and Ohio, are contested in special elections for unexpired terms ending January 3, 2029, bringing the scheduled total to 35 seats. These November elections remained pending at the October 15, 2026, information cutoff. (senate.gov)\n\nAs of October 15, the Senate comprised 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents. The regularly contested Class II seats were held by 20 Republicans and 13 Democrats; both special-election seats were Republican-held. Thus, 65 seats were not scheduled for election: 31 Republican, 32 Democratic, and two independent seats. Chamber control depends on those continuing senators together with the election winners—not on which party wins the largest number of the 35 contests. Fifty-one seats constitute an outright majority of the full Senate; at an equal division, the vice president’s constitutional authority to break tied votes also matters to chamber organization. (senate.gov)\n\nRegular elections\n\nThe table identifies every regularly scheduled seat and its incumbent at the cutoff. The nominee columns cover the Democratic and Republican ballot lines, rather than constituting a complete inventory of minor-party and independent candidates. D means Democratic, R Republican, and DFL Minnesota’s Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party; an asterisk identifies the sitting senator. A dash indicates no candidate on that major-party line. All listed contests were awaiting the general election. Alaska’s listed candidates advanced through its nonpartisan primary and are not exclusive party nominees. Incumbency follows the Senate’s official Class II roster; nominee information reflects the general-election field. (senate.gov)\n\nState | Incumbent | Democratic nominee | Republican nominee or Alaska Republican qualifiers\nAlabama | Tommy Tuberville (R) | Everett Wess | Barry Moore\nAlaska | Dan Sullivan (R) | Mary Peltola | Dan S. Sullivan*; Dan J. Sullivan; Gerald Heikes\nArkansas | Tom Cotton (R) | Hallie Shoffner | Tom Cotton*\nColorado | John Hickenlooper (D) | John Hickenlooper* | Mark Baisley\nDelaware | Chris Coons (D) | Chris Coons* | Michael Katz\nGeorgia | Jon Ossoff (D) | Jon Ossoff* | Mike Collins\nIdaho | Jim Risch (R) | — | Jim Risch*\nIllinois | Dick Durbin (D) | Juliana Stratton | Don Tracy\nIowa | Joni Ernst (R) | Josh Turek | Ashley Hinson\nKansas | Roger Marshall (R) | Adam Hamilton | Roger Marshall*\nKentucky | Mitch McConnell (R) | Charles Booker | Andy Barr\nLouisiana | Bill Cassidy (R) | Jamie Davis | Julia Letlow\nMaine | Susan Collins (R) | Troy Jackson | Susan Collins*\nMassachusetts | Ed Markey (D) | Ed Markey* | John Deaton\nMichigan | Gary Peters (D) | Abdul El-Sayed | Mike Rogers\nMinnesota | Tina Smith (DFL) | Peggy Flanagan (DFL) | Michele Tafoya\nMississippi | Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) | Scott Colom | Cindy Hyde-Smith*\nMontana | Steve Daines (R) | Alani Bankhead | Kurt Alme\nNebraska | Pete Ricketts (R) | — | Pete Ricketts*\nNew Hampshire | Jeanne Shaheen (D) | Chris Pappas | John E. Sununu\nNew Jersey | Cory Booker (D) | Cory Booker* | Justin Murphy\nNew Mexico | Ben Ray Luján (D) | Ben Ray Luján* | Larry Marker\nNorth Carolina | Thom Tillis (R) | Roy Cooper | Michael Whatley\nOklahoma | Alan Armstrong (R) | N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas | Kevin Hern\nOregon | Jeff Merkley (D) | Jeff Merkley* | David Brock Smith\nRhode Island | Jack Reed (D) | Jack Reed* | Raymond McKay\nSouth Carolina | Darline Graham (R) | Annie Andrews | Darline Graham*\nSouth Dakota | Mike Rounds (R) | — | Mike Rounds*\nTennessee | Bill Hagerty (R) | Marquita Bradshaw | Bill Hagerty*\nTexas | John Cornyn (R) | James Talarico | Ken Paxton\nVirginia | Mark Warner (D) | Mark Warner* | Bert Mizusawa\nWest Virginia | Shelley Moore Capito (R) | Rachel Fetty Anderson | Shelley Moore Capito*\nWyoming | Cynthia Lummis (R) | James W. Byrd | Harriet Hageman\n\nThe absence of a Democratic ballot line in Idaho, Nebraska, and South Dakota did not make those races uncontested: independent candidates included Todd Achilles, Dan Osborn, and Brian Bengs, respectively. Nominee replacement also distinguished nomination results from the final ballot: Maine Democrats selected Troy Jackson at a July 25 convention after their primary nominee withdrew. Oklahoma remained a regular Class II election despite the intervening appointment of Alan Armstrong, announced by Governor Kevin Stitt on March 24, 2026. (en.wikipedia.org)\n\nSpecial elections\n\nFlorida and Ohio elect successors for the remainder of existing Class III terms, not new six-year terms. Florida Statutes section 100.161 requires an election at the next general election following a Senate vacancy and permits an interim gubernatorial appointment. Ohio Revised Code section 3521.02 similarly provides for filling a vacancy at the next regular state election. Governor Mike DeWine’s October 29, 2025, writ established Ohio’s May 5 special primary and November 3 special general election; Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s Directive 2025-54 specified the January 3, 2029, term expiration. (flsenate.gov)\n\nState | Vacancy and appointed incumbent | General-election ballot candidates | Term and status\nFlorida | Marco Rubio resigned to become secretary of state; Ashley Moody (R) appointed | Ashley Moody (R, incumbent); Angie Nixon (D); Neil J. Gillespie (no party affiliation) | Unexpired term ending January 3, 2029; November 3 election pending\nOhio | JD Vance resigned effective January 10, 2025; Jon Husted (R) appointed | Sherrod Brown (D); Jon Husted (R, incumbent); Greg Levy (other-party candidate); William B. Redpath (Libertarian) | Unexpired term ending January 3, 2029; November 3 election pending\n\nFlorida’s candidate database distinguishes qualified general-election candidates from defeated primary entrants. Ohio’s official sample ballot expressly labels the office “Unexpired term ending 1-3-2029” and lists the four candidates separately from any applicable write-in space. (dos.elections.myflorida.com)\n\nRunoffs and ranked-choice procedures\n\nAlaska uses a top-four nonpartisan primary followed by ranked-choice voting in the general election; its four Senate finalists comprised three Republicans and one Democrat. Maine also applies ranked-choice voting to its federal general elections. In ranked tabulation, ballots supporting eliminated candidates can transfer to their next-ranked continuing candidate; ballots without a valid continuing preference become exhausted. These transfers are part of counting the same election, not a separately scheduled runoff. (elections.alaska.gov)\n\nGeorgia requires a majority and schedules a December 1, 2026, runoff if necessary. Louisiana’s Senate contest instead operates under the closed-party nomination system introduced for specified offices in 2026: a primary majority, or a primary runoff, determines each major party’s nominee, but the November general-election winner is selected by plurality. Louisiana’s December runoff arrangements for open-primary offices therefore should not be applied to its 2026 Senate contest. (en.wikipedia.org)" }, { "heading": "Gubernatorial and other executive elections", "text": "Gubernatorial elections are scheduled for November 3, 2026, in 36 states and, separately, three territories: Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. The National Governors Association identifies 18 incumbents seeking reelection and 21 contests in which the incumbent is term-limited or not seeking reelection. All November outcomes remain pending at the October 15 information cutoff. Regular gubernatorial terms are four years except in New Hampshire and Vermont, where they are two years. (nga.org)\n\nEligibility for another term is distinct from seeking or obtaining renomination. Michigan’s constitution, for example, prohibits election more than twice to each of its four principal executive offices; service exceeding half a term after filling a vacancy counts toward that limit. Gretchen Whitmer therefore cannot seek another gubernatorial term in 2026. By contrast, Iowa’s Kim Reynolds, Minnesota’s Tim Walz, and Wisconsin’s Tony Evers are not seeking reelection without being barred by gubernatorial term limits. Rhode Island’s Dan McKee sought another term but lost the Democratic primary to Helena Foulkes. These circumstances produce different kinds of open-seat contests and should not be grouped indiscriminately as term-limit departures. (legislature.mi.gov)\n\nGubernatorial contests\n\nThe tables identify Democratic and Republican nominees or general-election qualifiers, rather than a complete inventory of minor-party, independent, and write-in candidates. Inc. identifies an incumbent seeking another term; TL means the incumbent is term-limited; retiring means the incumbent is not seeking reelection. Every listed general election is pending as of October 15, 2026. Alaska’s qualifiers advance through an all-party primary rather than separate party nominations. (uspresidentialelectionnews.com)\n\nState | Democratic nominee or qualifier | Republican nominee or qualifiers | Incumbency and ballot status\nAlabama | Doug Jones | Tommy Tuberville | Open—TL\nAlaska | Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins | Dave Bronson; Treg Taylor; Bernadette Wilson | Open—TL; four-candidate ranked-choice election\nArizona | Katie Hobbs | Andy Biggs | Hobbs, inc.\nArkansas | Fredrick Love | Sarah Huckabee Sanders | Sanders, inc.\nCalifornia | Xavier Becerra | Steve Hilton | Open—TL; top-two qualifiers\nColorado | Phil Weiser | Victor Marx | Open—TL\nConnecticut | Ned Lamont | Ryan Fazio | Lamont, inc.\nFlorida | David Jolly | Byron Donalds | Open—TL\nGeorgia | Keisha Lance Bottoms | Rick Jackson | Open—TL\n\nSources for Alabama–Georgia: National Governors Association, supplemented by the October 14 general-election candidate compilation. (nga.org)\n\nState | Democratic nominee | Republican nominee | Incumbency and ballot status\nHawaii | Josh Green | Gary Cordery | Green, inc.\nIdaho | Terri Pickens | Brad Little | Little, inc.\nIllinois | JB Pritzker | Darren Bailey | Pritzker, inc.\nIowa | Rob Sand | Zach Lahn | Open—Reynolds retiring\nKansas | Cindy Holscher | Ty Masterson | Open—TL\nMaine | Hannah Pingree | Robert B. Charles | Open—TL\nMaryland | Wes Moore | Dan Cox | Moore, inc.\nMassachusetts | Maura Healey | Michael Minogue | Healey, inc.\nMichigan | Jocelyn Benson | John James | Open—TL\n\nMaine also has independent candidate Rick Bennett; Maryland’s ballot includes Green and Working Class Party tickets. These candidacies are separate from the major-party nominations shown above. (multistate.us)\n\nState | Democratic nominee | Republican nominee | Incumbency and ballot status\nMinnesota | Amy Klobuchar | Lisa Demuth | Open—Walz retiring\nNebraska | Lynne Walz | Jim Pillen | Pillen, inc.\nNevada | Aaron Ford | Joe Lombardo | Lombardo, inc.\nNew Hampshire | Cinde Warmington | Kelly Ayotte | Ayotte, inc.; two-year term\nNew Mexico | Deb Haaland | Gregg Hull | Open—TL\nNew York | Kathy Hochul | Bruce Blakeman | Hochul, inc.\nOhio | Amy Acton | Vivek Ramaswamy | Open—TL\nOklahoma | Cyndi Munson | Mike Mazzei | Open—TL\nOregon | Tina Kotek | Christine Drazan | Kotek, inc.\n\nThe Oklahoma State Election Board’s November candidate listing identifies Mazzei as the Republican gubernatorial candidate following the primary runoff. (uspresidentialelectionnews.com)\n\nState | Democratic nominee | Republican nominee | Incumbency and ballot status\nPennsylvania | Josh Shapiro | Stacy Garrity | Shapiro, inc.\nRhode Island | Helena Foulkes | Aaron Guckian | McKee defeated in primary\nSouth Carolina | Jermaine Johnson | Alan Wilson | Open—TL\nSouth Dakota | Dan Ahlers | Larry Rhoden | Rhoden, inc.\nTennessee | Jerri Green | Marsha Blackburn | Open—TL\nTexas | Gina Hinojosa | Greg Abbott | Abbott, inc.\nVermont | Amanda Janoo | Phil Scott | Scott, inc.; two-year term\nWisconsin | David Crowley | Tom Tiffany | Open—Evers retiring\nWyoming | Kenneth Casner | Eric Barlow | Open—TL\n\nRhode Island’s official candidate register records Foulkes and Guckian as primary winners appearing on the general-election ballot. Texas’s August 28 ballot certification also lists Libertarian gubernatorial nominee Pat Dixon. Alan Wilson won South Carolina’s Republican runoff on June 23. (uspresidentialelectionnews.com)\n\nTerritory | General-election gubernatorial candidates | Incumbency and election status\nGuam | Therese Terlaje (D); Vicente Ada (R) | Lou Leon Guerrero term-limited; pending\nNorthern Mariana Islands | Blas Jonathan “BJ” Attao (independent); Lawrence Camacho (independent); Ralph Torres (R) | David Apatang not seeking election; pending\nUnited States Virgin Islands | Stacey Plaskett (D); Oakland Benta, Adlah Donastorg Jr., Gustav James, Warren Mosler (independents) | Albert Bryan term-limited; pending\n\nThe Northern Mariana Islands’ certified list contains three governor–lieutenant governor tickets: Attao–Edmund Villagomez, Torres–Benjamin Jones, and Camacho–Edith Deleon Guerrero. These territorial contests are not included in the 36-state total. (nga.org)\n\nOther executive offices and ticket arrangements\n\nThe executive ballot extends beyond governorships and does not follow a single national cycle. Delaware and North Dakota, for example, elect attorneys general in 2026 without holding gubernatorial elections; Oregon and Pennsylvania elect governors but not attorneys general. The principal directly elected offices include the following jurisdictions; postal abbreviations distinguish states compactly. “Auditor or equivalent” includes separately titled controllers and comptrollers, whose statutory responsibilities are not identical. (stateside.com)\n\nOffice | States holding regular elections in 2026\n[[state-attorney-general | Attorney general]]\n[[secretary-of-state-us-state-government | Secretary of state]]\nTreasurer or treasury-equivalent financial office | AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MA, NE, NV, NM, OH, OK, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, WI, WY; Florida elects a chief financial officer and Texas a comptroller of public accounts. (en.wikipedia.org)\nAuditor, controller, or comptroller | AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, ID, IL, IN, IA, MD, MA, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, NY, OH, OK, SC, SD, VT, WY. (en.wikipedia.org)\n\nAdditional offices vary by jurisdiction. California’s 2026 cycle includes insurance commissioner, superintendent of public instruction, and four Board of Equalization seats alongside its principal executive offices. Texas elects its agriculture commissioner, land commissioner, and one railroad commissioner. Ohio’s statewide ballot includes attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, and treasurer, while Massachusetts elects an attorney general, secretary of the Commonwealth, treasurer and receiver-general, and auditor. These offices are separate contests, not positions automatically filled by the winning governor’s party. (sos.ca.gov)\n\nLieutenant governors may be elected jointly with governors or independently. Michigan’s constitution requires one general-election vote for its governor–lieutenant governor pair; Maryland likewise lists paired gubernatorial tickets. California and Texas instead present separate lieutenant-governor contests, permitting voters to choose candidates independently of their gubernatorial choice. Arizona introduces its first elected lieutenant governor in the 2026 cycle: gubernatorial candidates advancing to the general election name running mates, and both names appear jointly on the November ballot. The Arizona candidate guide specifies that a person cannot independently enter the lieutenant-governor contest without authorization from a gubernatorial candidate. Alaska’s governor and lieutenant-governor candidates also file as teams, and the Northern Mariana Islands certifies joint tickets. (legislature.mi.gov)" }, { "heading": "State and territorial legislative elections", "text": "Regular legislative elections scheduled for November 3, 2026, cover 6,139 seats in 88 of the 99 state legislative chambers, across 46 states. These figures exclude special elections. Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia have no regularly scheduled legislative elections in 2026; Kansas, New Mexico and South Carolina elect their lower chambers but not their senates. The November contests remain pending at the October 15 information cutoff. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) identifies the following chamber-level patterns. (ncsl.org)\n\nRegular-election pattern | States\nEntire membership of both chambers | Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont\nEntire lower chamber and part of the senate | Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming\nPart of both chambers | North Dakota\nLower chamber only | Kansas, New Mexico, South Carolina\nPart of a unicameral legislature | Nebraska\n\nFull-chamber elections do not necessarily imply two-year terms: Maryland elects all 47 senators and 141 delegates for four years. Staggered terms instead leave some incumbents outside the regular-election electorate: North Dakota contests 24 of 47 Senate seats and 48 of 94 House seats. Nebraska’s officially nonpartisan, unicameral legislature elects its 24 even-numbered districts in 2026. Seat counts also differ from district counts where multimember districts operate. Maryland’s 47 legislative districts each return one senator and three delegates; delegate representation may be organized as a three-member district, three single-member subdistricts, or a two-member and a single-member subdistrict. (mgaleg.maryland.gov)\n\nThe following selected chambers illustrate full, staggered and lower-chamber-only elections alongside the pre-election balance. Composition is NCSL’s October 6, 2026 snapshot, not the November result; D denotes Democrats, R Republicans, O other affiliations and V vacancies. Party totals include seats not being contested. (ncsl.org)\n\nState and chamber | Regular seats contested / total | Composition: D–R–O–V\nAlaska House | 40 / 40 | 14–21–5–0\nAlaska Senate | 10 / 20 | 9–11–0–0\nKansas House | 125 / 125 | 37–88–0–0\nKansas Senate | 0 / 40 | 9–31–0–0\nMichigan House | 110 / 110 | 52–58–0–0\nMichigan Senate | 38 / 38 | 20–18–0–0\nNorth Carolina House | 120 / 120 | 47–71–2–0\nNorth Carolina Senate | 50 / 50 | 20–29–0–1\nPennsylvania House | 203 / 203 | 102–100–0–1\nPennsylvania Senate | 25 / 50 | 23–27–0–0\n\nNumerical party strength is distinct from chamber organization: Alaska’s Republican numerical majorities coexist with multiparty governing coalitions. NCSL explicitly cautions that its party-count classifications do not describe every coalition arrangement. A supermajority likewise requires a specified constitutional purpose and denominator. North Carolina’s veto override requires three-fifths of members present and voting in each chamber—72 representatives and 30 senators if everyone votes—whereas proposing a state constitutional amendment requires three-fifths of each chamber’s total membership. Neither threshold is equivalent to an ordinary party majority. (news.ballotpedia.org)\n\nSpecial elections\n\nVacancy elections are separate contests for unexpired terms and are excluded from the regular-seat total. They can occur in states without regular legislative elections that year, or alongside November full-term contests. Selected officially documented 2026 vacancy-election dates are catalogued below; the table is not a national inventory. Pennsylvania’s schedule includes six House vacancies, while Texas separately lists November special elections for Senate District 22 and House District 93. The Texas Senate District 9 contest was a runoff following the November 4, 2025, special election for Kelly Hancock’s vacated seat. (pa.gov)\n\nJurisdiction | Legislative vacancy contest | Election date\nVirginia | House districts 11 and 23 | January 13\nTexas | Senate District 9, special runoff | January 31\nPennsylvania | House districts 22 and 42 | February 24\nPennsylvania | House districts 79 and 193 | March 17\nPennsylvania | House District 196 | May 19\nPennsylvania | House District 12 | August 18\nTexas | Senate District 22; House District 93 | November 3\n\nThe dates above are documented in state election calendars, candidate materials and proclamations; inclusion does not substitute for certified returns or establish a winner. (elections.virginia.gov)\n\nTerritorial legislatures and the District of Columbia\n\nNCSL lists territorial regular contests separately: Guam and the United States Virgin Islands each contest all 15 seats in their unicameral legislatures; the Northern Mariana Islands contest 20 House seats and six Senate seats; and American Samoa’s House has 21 positions in its legislative breakdown, with no Senate election scheduled. Puerto Rico has no regular legislative election in 2026. American Samoa’s chamber includes the nonvoting Swains Island delegate, a status distinct from that of its voting representatives. (ncsl.org)\n\nThe 13-member Council of the District of Columbia has seven regularly scheduled positions on the ballot: chair, two at-large members, and members for wards 1, 3, 5 and 6. It is a home-rule legislature of the federal district, not a state legislature; its lawmaking authority operates within the congressional framework established by the Home Rule Act, including congressional review of District legislation. These Council contests therefore remain separate from the 88 state-chamber elections. (dcboe.org)" }, { "heading": "Judicial, local, and tribal elections", "text": "State judicial elections used different methods for selecting supreme court justices and intermediate appellate judges. North Carolina’s November 3 ballot contained four partisan appellate contests, all for eight-year terms. Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 1 matched Democrat Anita Earls against Republican Sarah Stevens. The Court of Appeals contests paired Republican Michael C. Byrne with Democrat John S. Arrowood for Seat 1, Republican George Cooper Bell with Democrat Tobias Hampson for Seat 2, and Republican Craig Collins with Democrat Christine Marie Walczyk for Seat 3. These were elections between named opponents, rather than votes solely on whether an incumbent should remain in office. All four general-election contests remained pending at the October 15, 2026, information cutoff. (ncsbe.gov)\n\nWisconsin held its nonpartisan judicial elections on April 7, separately from the November federal and state general elections. The judicial ballot included one Supreme Court seat, three Court of Appeals seats—in Districts I, II, and IV—and circuit court judgeships. Supreme Court terms lasted ten years, while appellate and circuit court terms lasted six years; the new terms began August 1. Chris Taylor won the Supreme Court election against Maria Lazar, succeeding Rebecca Grassl Bradley, who did not seek reelection. Although candidates received political endorsements, the election itself was nonpartisan rather than a contest carrying party nominations on the ballot. (wicourts.gov)\n\nRetention elections presented a different choice: voters answered whether an individual judge should continue serving, without choosing between competing candidates. California used this procedure for Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeal justices appearing on its November ballot; Supreme Court questions were statewide, whereas appellate questions concerned the voter’s appellate district. Iowa’s October 7 announcement identified three appellate judges and 84 trial court judges standing for retention on November 3. All Iowa voters could vote on the three appellate judges, while trial court retention questions depended on the local judicial election district. Under Iowa’s system, adopted through a 1962 constitutional amendment, a commission screened applicants before gubernatorial appointment; subsequent retention required a majority of “yes” votes. (newsroom.courts.ca.gov)\n\nLocal examples are selected here by office and institutional level—municipal executive, county government, and school-district governance—not as a national inventory. Los Angeles’s election ordinance called a June 2 primary nominating election for mayor, city attorney, controller, eight odd-numbered City Council districts, and Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education Districts 2, 4, and 6. It provided for November 3 elections wherever the June election had not already filled an office. These were four-year positions, with terms commencing December 14, 2026. Separately, Los Angeles County’s June election materials identified nonpartisan contests for sheriff, assessor, supervisors in Districts 1 and 3, and Superior Court judgeships. City, county, and school-district offices therefore represented distinct electoral jurisdictions even when their elections shared dates and administrative arrangements. (cityclerk.lacity.org)\n\nTribal-government elections operated under separate sovereign and electoral frameworks, rather than as subdivisions of state or county elections. Tribal governments determine their own governmental organization and voter-eligibility criteria within the applicable federal legal framework. The Navajo Nation held its primary on July 21 and scheduled its general election for November 3. Its four-year presidential election cycle included the president and vice-president, Navajo Nation Council, and election board; the election administration also listed education-board and other governmental contests in its 2026 materials. Navajo election registration was distinct from registration for Arizona, New Mexico, or Utah elections, and qualified Navajo voters living outside the reservation could request tribal registration forms. (bia.gov)\n\nCoverage is necessarily jurisdiction-specific: Wisconsin’s April judicial election, Los Angeles’s June–November municipal sequence, and the Navajo Nation’s July–November cycle cannot be treated as a single November election calendar. Official court notices, municipal ordinances, county candidate materials, and tribal election publications also describe different units—seats scheduled, candidates qualified, or retention questions. The examples above are not a complete count of judicial, municipal, county, school-board, or tribal elections; decentralized schedules and uneven national reporting limit comparisons across these categories. (wicourts.gov)" }, { "heading": "Ballot measures and referendums", "text": "As of September 15, 2026, 164 statewide measures had been certified in 40 states: 145 for November and 19 decided earlier in the year. These were counts of measures qualified for voting, not measures enacted. At the October 15 information cutoff, the November 3 questions remained pending. National inventories also require care in aggregation: the National Conference of State Legislatures’ database assigns multiple subjects to some questions but counts each measure only once in its totals. (news.ballotpedia.org)\n\nThe measures differed both in their origin and in the level of law they would change. A citizen initiative proposes legislation or, where permitted, a constitutional amendment through petitions; a legislative referral originates in the legislature. A popular referendum submits an already enacted law to voters for approval or rejection, rather than necessarily proposing new text. An advisory question records voter preferences without itself changing law. Statutory measures alter ordinary legislation; constitutional amendments alter the state’s governing constitution and follow its amendment procedures. These categories overlap: an initiative or legislative referral can be constitutional, while not every referendum is advisory. (ncsl.org)\n\nQualification and adoption were separate hurdles. For California’s 2026 cycle, statutory initiatives required 546,651 valid signatures and constitutional initiatives 874,641—respectively 5% and 8% of the votes cast for governor in 2022. County officials verified signatures before statewide qualification. California ordinarily approved statewide measures by a majority voting on the question; Florida constitutional amendments required 60%. Colorado generally required 55% for constitutional amendments, compared with a simple majority for statutory initiatives. Nevada’s initiated constitutional amendments required majority approval at two consecutive general elections, making a first approval insufficient for enactment. (elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov)\n\nThe following selected catalogue identifies certified November measures illustrating different subjects and legal mechanisms; it is not a complete national inventory. Titles reproduce official headings, except that Washington entries use the official measure designation and a shortened subject description. “Legislative” identifies a referral, not a petition initiative.\n\nJurisdiction and ballot number | Official title or designation | Type, subject, and principal legal effect if approved\nCalifornia, Proposition 1 | Authorizes Bonds for Housing Affordability Programs | Legislative statute; authorizes $11.25 billion in general-obligation borrowing for affordable and veterans’ housing. The official fiscal estimate places repayment costs at $500 million–$600 million annually for about 25 years. (voterguide.sos.ca.gov)\nCalifornia, Proposition 2 | Increases State’s Rainy Day Fund | Legislative constitutional amendment; changes reserve-building and additional debt-payment rules, increasing budget reserves and extending extra debt payments. (voterguide.sos.ca.gov)\nCalifornia, Proposition 3 | Provides Permanent Funding for Schools and Health Care by Extending Existing Tax on High Incomes | Citizen-initiated constitutional amendment; makes the existing higher income-tax rates permanent instead of allowing expiration in 2031. The official estimate identifies $5 billion–$15 billion in annual revenue maintained. (voterguide.sos.ca.gov)\nCalifornia, Proposition 4 | Repeals Prohibition Against Public Funding of Election Campaigns | Legislative statute; permits state and local public campaign-financing programs, subject to restrictions, including exclusions for funds earmarked for education, transportation, or public safety. (voterguide.sos.ca.gov)\nCalifornia, Proposition 5 | Changes Recall Election Process for Statewide Officers | Legislative constitutional amendment; removes the simultaneous replacement-candidate question from statewide recall elections, substituting appointments or later special elections according to the office and timing. (voterguide.sos.ca.gov)\nFlorida, Amendment 1 | Budget Stabilization Fund | Legislative constitutional amendment; raises the fund’s ceiling from 10% to 25% of general-revenue collections and generally requires annual transfers of the lesser of $750 million or the amount needed to reach that ceiling. (constitutionalinitiatives.dos.fl.gov)\nFlorida, Amendment 2 | Exemption of Tangible Personal Property on Agricultural Land from Taxation | Legislative constitutional amendment; exempts qualifying agricultural-production and agritourism personal property from ad valorem taxation, beginning with tax years starting January 1, 2027. (constitutionalinitiatives.dos.fl.gov)\nFlorida, Amendment 3 | Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments | Legislative constitutional amendment; raises the non-school-tax homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with subsequent inflation adjustments; reduces the annual assessment-growth cap for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%. It also establishes residency-related conditions and rules governing local property-tax uses. (constitutionalinitiatives.dos.fl.gov)\nWashington, IP26-645 | Initiative Measure No. IP26-645—state and local taxes | Citizen-initiated statute submitted directly to voters; repeals the 9.9% tax on annual individual income above $1 million and prohibits specified income-based taxes. (sos.wa.gov)\nWashington, IL26-001 | Initiative Measure No. IL26-001—parental rights in public schools | Citizen-initiated statute submitted through the legislature; reverses the legislature’s 2025 changes to the parental-rights law adopted in 2024. Among its provisions, school-record production would generally be required within ten business days rather than 45 days. (sos.wa.gov)\nWashington, IL26-638 | Initiative Measure No. IL26-638—K–12 athletics participation | Citizen-initiated statute submitted through the legislature; excludes students defined by the measure as “biologically male” from designated female athletic competitions and requires healthcare-provider verification of sex. (sos.wa.gov)\n\nFormal qualification was distinct from permission to circulate petitions, verified eligibility, withdrawal, or failure to qualify. California’s official list recorded the removal of ACA 13 from the November ballot on June 25, 2026, pursuant to ACA 21. Separately, proposed initiative 25-0031, which would have ended use of the congressional maps approved in 2025 after the 2026 election, was recorded as having failed qualification on July 24. Neither belonged in the certified-measure catalogue. Florida’s database likewise distinguished an “Active” proposal from one marked “Made Ballot”; active status alone did not establish that a proposal would appear before voters in 2026. (sos.ca.gov)" }, { "heading": "Campaign organization, finance, and public-opinion evidence", "text": "Federal campaigns distinguished candidates’ authorized committees from party committees and organizations spending independently. Candidates’ committees received contributions and paid campaign expenses; the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee, and their Senate counterparts, organized party support for congressional contests. Independent candidates were subject to the same federal candidate-registration threshold as party-affiliated candidates: raising or spending more than $5,000 triggered registration and reporting obligations. Independent-expenditure-only committees, commonly called super PACs, could accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor organizations, and other political committees, but could not contribute to candidates. Their expenditures expressly advocating a candidate’s election or defeat had to remain independent of candidates and party committees. (fec.gov)\n\nThe legal framework for party spending changed during the campaign. On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court held in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission that federal limits on coordinated party expenditures violated the First Amendment. These expenditures were a distinct category of party spending undertaken in coordination with candidates, rather than direct contributions or independent expenditures. The litigation had been initiated on November 4, 2022, by the NRSC, NRCC, J. D. Vance, and Steven Chabot. The decision invalidated the coordinated-expenditure limits, not the distinction between authorized campaign committees and independent-expenditure organizations. (fec.gov)\n\nThe Federal Election Commission (FEC) published the following disclosure-based aggregate on October 1, covering January 1, 2025–June 30, 2026. These figures therefore did not represent spending through the October 15 information cutoff. Dollar amounts are in millions; cash on hand is the balance reported as of June 30, rather than receipts minus disbursements during the reporting period. The congressional figures also included activity associated with special elections. (fec.gov)\n\nReporting category | Receipts | Disbursements | Cash on hand\nCongressional candidate committees | $2,799.1 | $2,036.7 | $1,337.2\nParty committees, federal accounts | $1,376.4 | $1,008.1 | $488.5\nPolitical action committees | $8,307.4 | $6,549.2 | —\n\nReported independent-expenditure disbursements totaled $643.4 million, including $529.6 million from independent-expenditure-only committees. Independent expenditures were a spending classification, not an additional category to add to the table’s disbursements. Congressional candidates separately reported $366.7 million in outstanding debts. (fec.gov)\n\nDisclosure schedules also limited comparisons between organizations. House and Senate candidate committees’ third-quarter reports were due October 15, covering activity through September 30, while monthly-filing national party committees’ September reports were due October 20. Pre-general-election reports were due October 22 and closed their books on October 14. Federal disclosures did not provide a comprehensive account of gubernatorial, legislative, local, or ballot-measure campaigning: those activities operated under state and local systems. In California, for example, the Political Reform Act required campaign statements disclosing contributions and expenditures, with filing destinations determined by the office and committee involved; local requirements could supplement state rules. (fec.gov)\n\nPublic-opinion polling measured stated preferences rather than election outcomes. Pew Research Center’s survey, conducted by SSRS from September 28 to October 4 and published October 8, interviewed 5,062 U.S. adults: 4,874 online and 188 by telephone. Among registered voters, 44% preferred the Democratic House candidate, 36% the Republican, 5% another candidate, and 15% were unsure; most respondents received district-specific candidate names. The full adult sample’s margin of sampling error was ±1.6 percentage points, not necessarily the margin for registered voters or smaller subgroups. Weighting addressed selection probabilities and population composition, but question wording and nonresponse remained potential sources of error. The registered-voter estimates were neither a likely-voter forecast nor a projection of House seats. (pewresearch.org)" }, { "heading": "Voting administration and election safeguards", "text": "Administration of the 2026 elections was decentralized: state law governed registration and voting procedures, while local election offices maintained voter records, operated voting locations, and processed ballots. State chief election officials exercised oversight or advisory responsibilities that varied by jurisdiction. The federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) provided administrative guidance, grants, and voting-system testing and certification; it did not direct local elections. The Department of Justice enforced federal voting-rights protections. These responsibilities reflected federalism, rather than a single national election-administration system. (eac.gov)\n\nRegistration deadlines and eligibility requirements differed by state. California required United States citizenship, state residence, and an age of at least 18 on election day; people serving a state or federal prison term for a felony conviction were ineligible, as were those judicially determined mentally incompetent to vote. Its ordinary registration deadline for the November 3 election was October 19, 2026, followed by conditional registration through election day, with ballots counted after eligibility verification. Texas’s registration deadline was October 5. For in-person voting, Texas required voters possessing one of seven accepted photographic identification documents to present it; voters unable reasonably to obtain one could submit a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and supporting identification, such as a utility bill or bank statement. California generally did not require identification at the polls, although specified first-time voters who registered by mail could be required to provide it. (sos.ca.gov)\n\nVoting methods likewise depended on jurisdiction. Texas scheduled in-person early voting for October 19–30; mail voting was restricted to statutory categories, including voters aged 65 or older, qualifying illness or disability, and absence from the county during early voting and election day. California mailed ballots to active registered voters, with distribution beginning no later than October 5. Its November 3 polling hours were 7 a.m.–8 p.m.; mailed ballots required an election-day postmark and receipt by November 10, whereas personally delivered ballots were due by the close of polls. Under the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), jurisdictions subject to its provisional-voting requirement had to offer a provisional ballot when a voter asserted registration and eligibility but was missing from the rolls or challenged by a poll worker. Officials subsequently determined eligibility, and voters had access to a free system explaining whether their ballot counted. (votetexas.gov)\n\nMilitary and overseas voting used separate federal protections. Eligible absent uniformed-service voters, qualifying family members, and overseas citizens could use the Federal Post Card Application to register and request absentee ballots. Timely requests triggered the requirement to transmit federal-election ballots at least 45 days before election day—September 19 for the November 3, 2026 election—subject to statutory exceptions. The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot provided a backup when the regular ballot could not arrive and be returned in time; state-specific instructions governed submission and return deadlines. (fvap.gov)\n\nAccessibility provisions addressed both physical access and independent ballot marking for voters with a disability. HAVA required at least one accessible voting system at each polling location in federal elections. California additionally offered remote accessible vote-by-mail systems, allowing voters to read and mark ballots with compatible personal technology; these systems did not transmit completed votes over the internet. Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act required covered jurisdictions to provide election materials and assistance in designated minority languages. Section 208 protected assistance by a person chosen by voters needing help because of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write, excluding their employer or union representative. (eac.gov)\n\nSafeguards combined equipment checks, documented ballot handling, cybersecurity, and post-election verification. California required pre-election logic-and-accuracy testing and prohibited voting systems from connecting to the internet or external communications networks. Its one-percent manual-tally procedure checked randomly selected precincts and additional precincts needed to include otherwise unrepresented contests. Regulations required sealed ballot containers and custody logs documenting handlers, transfers, and purposes. These were jurisdiction-specific requirements, not a uniform national audit rule. Federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency guidance separately identified multifactor authentication, software patching, and phishing awareness as protective measures for election infrastructure; such guidance did not itself establish that every jurisdiction had implemented them. (sos.ca.gov)" }, { "heading": "Counting, certification, and available results", "text": "Election-night returns are unofficial, including displays marked “100% precincts reporting”: that designation does not establish that all eligible mail, provisional, military, and overseas ballots have been counted. During the canvass, officials reconcile ballot totals with voter records, examine discrepancies, and aggregate valid votes from the different voting methods. Certification is the authorized official’s or board’s written attestation to the resulting totals. A news organization’s projection or a candidate’s concession is not certification and does not replace the legally prescribed determination. The responsible authorities and deadlines differ by jurisdiction; there is no single national certification of the midterm elections. (eac.gov)\n\nA recount re-examines votes in a specified contest, whereas an election challenge invokes procedures for disputing an election’s validity or outcome. Recounts may follow a qualifying request, a statutory margin threshold, or a court order; they are distinct from routine post-election audits. Virginia’s published procedures, for example, permit a candidate recount petition when the certified difference is no greater than 1% of the combined votes for the apparent winner and the defeated candidate concerned. Courts supervise the recount and adjudicate disputed ballots. Election challenges can have consequences beyond retabulation: Virginia’s election-results page records that the state Supreme Court’s May 8, 2026, ruling voided the April 21 redistricting referendum, leaving its displayed returns unofficial rather than certified. (eac.gov)\n\nAt the October 15, 2026, information cutoff, the November 3 general elections remained pending, but certified primary and special-election returns were available. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber certified the June 2 primary on July 10, reporting 9,446,461 participating voters: 8,423,060 voted by mail and 1,023,401 at voting locations. These are primary participation figures, not November results. A completed congressional special election provides a separate example: California’s August 18 District 14 election, certified September 18, returned Democrat Aisha Wahab with 51,734 votes (53.1%), against Democrat Melissa Hernandez’s 45,700 (46.9%). The official canvass identifies the vacancy as resulting from Eric Swalwell’s resignation. Those returns belong to the vacancy election, not the separate full-term general-election contest. (sos.ca.gov)\n\nCertification deadlines also extend beyond election night. California’s published November calendar sets December 3 as the deadline for county certification, December 4 for transmission of complete county returns, and December 11 for the secretary of state’s certified Statement of Vote. Consequently, November reporting must distinguish preliminary totals from certified returns and retain a dated status for unresolved contests. General-election tables should identify each office, district, election date and term; candidate votes and percentages; winner and certification status; and any outstanding recount, runoff, or challenge. Party-summary tables should distinguish seats won from total seats held, define the dated comparison used for gains and losses, and keep special-election changes separate from full-term results. These are reporting categories, not outcomes available at the cutoff. (sos.ca.gov)\n\nTurnout requires an explicit denominator. California’s certified June primary participation equalled 40.80% of registered voters but 34.66% of the eligible voting-age population—different measures of the same election. Its District 14 special-election canvass reported 97,434 voters among 431,872 registered voters, or 22.56%. For aggregated turnout, ballots and denominator populations must cover the same jurisdictions and election, with missing jurisdictions identified rather than treated as zero; state percentages are not simply averaged. Ballots cast must also remain distinct from votes recorded for one office: voters may omit a contest or cast an invalid selection. Candidate percentages therefore require a contest-specific denominator, while uncontested races and incomplete returns need explicit flags. Combining votes across different offices, or adding primary and special-election participation to November ballots, would not measure the number of general-election voters. (sos.ca.gov)" }, { "heading": "Officeholding transitions and institutional consequences", "text": "The regular congressional elections in 2026 fill terms beginning at noon on January 3, 2027, when the 120th Congress begins. Under the United States Constitution, representatives serve two-year terms, ending January 3, 2029, while senators elected to regular six-year terms serve until January 3, 2033. The constitutional beginning of a term is distinct from the date on which Congress first meets: the Twentieth Amendment permits Congress to set a different meeting day by law. Special elections instead fill the remainder of an existing term; election to an unexpired term does not itself confer the following full term. (senate.gov)\n\nCertified state returns establish the credentials presented by congressional members-elect, but each chamber retains constitutional authority to judge its members’ elections, returns, and qualifications. In the House, the outgoing Clerk initially presides over the opening proceedings. Members-elect establish a quorum and elect the Speaker; the Speaker takes the oath and then administers it to the members-elect. The House subsequently adopts its rules and organizes its committees. Thus, a party’s certified seat total and the chamber’s formal organization are separate institutional facts: the electorate chooses representatives, while the House itself elects its presiding officer. (senate.gov)\n\nThe Senate continues across congressional terms because only one of its three classes ordinarily faces election in each cycle. Its organization therefore depends on the complete membership, including senators whose seats were not contested in 2026, rather than solely on that year’s winners. Party conferences choose their leaders and develop committee assignments; committee sizes and party ratios are negotiated by the leaders and approved by the Senate. These arrangements determine committee leadership and membership, rather than following automatically from the certification of individual races. As of the October 15, 2026, information cutoff, the November general elections remain pending; incoming congressional majorities and leadership arrangements are consequently not recorded as established outcomes. (senate.gov)\n\nState transitions follow their own constitutional schedules rather than the federal January 3 timetable. Michigan’s constitution generally begins the terms of elected state officers, legislators, and judges at noon on January 1 following their election, making January 1, 2027, the applicable transition date for those elected in November 2026, subject to constitutional exceptions. Texas instead provides for installation of the governor on the first Tuesday after the legislature organizes, or as soon afterward as practicable, for a four-year term. Changes in gubernatorial officeholding therefore take effect according to the relevant state provision, not simply when election returns become final. (legislature.mi.gov)\n\nLegislative party composition likewise must be distinguished from the subsequent selection of officers and governing arrangements. Michigan, for example, begins legislators’ terms on January 1 but convenes its legislature at noon on the second Wednesday in January. Its constitution requires each house to choose its officers and determine its procedural rules. A certified change in party seat totals can therefore precede the organizational proceedings through which the incoming chamber selects its leadership. Neither a November gubernatorial control change nor an incoming legislative governing arrangement is treated here as established before the relevant election and organizational decisions. (legislature.mi.gov)\n\nApproved ballot measures have separate effective-date and implementation rules. Florida’s constitution ordinarily makes an approved constitutional amendment effective on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January following the election—January 5, 2027, for a measure approved in November 2026—unless the amendment specifies another date. California generally makes an approved initiative statute or referendum effective on the fifth day after the Secretary of State files the election’s statement of the vote, while permitting a later operative date. The Secretary’s filing thus supplies a legal timing trigger, not a universal assignment of implementation duties: responsibility for administering substantive changes follows the particular measure and applicable law. These provisions describe prospective legal mechanisms, not measures already approved at the October 15 cutoff. (flsenate.gov)" } ], "links": [ "united-states-midterm-election", "united-states", "separation-of-powers", "legislation", "united-states-constitution", "political-party", "population-census", "washington-d-c", "puerto-rico", "constitution", "legislature", "judiciary", "sovereignty", "referendum", "federalism", "disability", "cybersecurity" ], "sources": [ { "title": "2024 Electoral College Results", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/2024" }, { "title": "Party Divisions", "url": "https://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Party Division", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/history/partydiv.htm" }, { "title": "Party Breakdown", "url": "https://radiotv.house.gov/house-data/party-breakdown" }, { "title": "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives - Kevin Kiley", "url": "https://clerk.house.gov/Members/K000401?os=app" }, { "title": "Senate Membership, One Hundred Nineteenth Congress, Second Session", "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CCAL-119scal-2026-06-10/pdf/CCAL-119scal-2026-06-10.pdf" }, { "title": "Leadership", "url": "https://www.house.gov/leadership" }, { "title": "About | House of Representatives Committee on Rules", "url": "https://rules.house.gov/about" }, { "title": "Committees", "url": "https://www.house.gov/committees" }, { "title": "The Legislative Process", "url": "https://www.house.gov/the-house-explained/the-legislative-process" }, { "title": "2026 Congressional Primary Dates and Candidate Filing Deadlines for Ballot Access", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/2026pdates.pdf" }, { "title": "2026 State Primary Election Dates", "url": "https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/2026-state-primary-election-dates" }, { "title": "Special Primary Proclamation", "url": "https://governor.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Special-Primary-Proclamation.pdf" }, { "title": "Types of Elections", "url": "https://www.sos.la.gov/elections-voting/types-of-elections" }, { "title": "Election Day - General Election Runoff", "url": "https://georgia.gov/events/2026-12-01/election-day-general-election-runoff" }, { "title": "Closed Party Primary Elections", "url": "https://www.sos.la.gov/elections-voting/closed-party-primary-elections" }, { "title": "Voter-Nominated Offices Information", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-nominated-offices" }, { "title": "State Candidates Guide 2026", "url": "https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-02/StateCandidatesGuide2026.pdf" }, { "title": "Form a New Political Party", "url": "https://vote.utah.gov/form-a-new-political-party/" }, { "title": "2026 Candidate Manual", "url": "https://vote.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-Candidate-Manual.pdf" }, { "title": "Running as an Independent Candidate in 2026", "url": "https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/candidates/guide/2026/ind2026.shtml" }, { "title": "Representatives", "url": "https://www.house.gov/representatives" }, { "title": "Find Your Representative", "url": "https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative" }, { "title": "2020 Census Apportionment Results", "url": "https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html" }, { "title": "Historical Apportionment Data (1910–2020)", "url": "https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/apportionment-data-text.html" }, { "title": "U.S.C. Title 2—The Congress", "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title2/html/USCODE-2024-title2-chap1.htm" }, { "title": "Retiring in the United States House of Representatives", "url": "https://clerk.house.gov/documents/Retiring%20.pdf" }, { "title": "Running for Other Office in the United States House of Representatives", "url": "https://clerk.house.gov/documents/Running_For_Other_Office%20.pdf" }, { "title": "Browse data", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/browse-data/" }, { "title": "California Secretary of State Certifies Candidate List for November 3, 2026, General Election", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2026-news-releases-and-advisories/california-secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-certifies-candidate-list-november-3-2026-general-election" }, { "title": "2026 General Election Candidate Roster", "url": "https://sos.wyo.gov/Elections/Docs/2026/2026_WY_General_Election_Candidates.pdf" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Class II—Senators Whose Terms of Service Expire in 2027", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/senators/Class_II.htm" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Constitution of the United States", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm?vm=r" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Senators", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Votes to Break Ties in the Senate", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/legislative/TieVotes.htm" }, { "title": "2026 United States Senate elections", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_elections" }, { "title": "Governor Stitt Appoints Alan Armstrong as U.S. Senator", "url": "https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2026/governor-stitt-appoints-alan-armstrong-as-us-senator.html" }, { "title": "Chapter 100 Section 161—2025 Florida Statutes", "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/100.161" }, { "title": "Section 3521.02—Ohio Revised Code", "url": "https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3521.02?lv=true" }, { "title": "Candidate Listing for 2026 General Election—Florida Division of Elections", "url": "https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/CanList.asp?CountyCode=ORA&elecid=20261103-GEN" }, { "title": "2026 United States Senate special election in Florida", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_special_election_in_Florida" }, { "title": "Elections — National Governors Association", "url": "https://www.nga.org/governors/elections/" }, { "title": "2026 Governor Elections: Complete Race and Candidate Guide", "url": "https://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2026-governor-elections/" }, { "title": "2026 Governor Candidates by State", "url": "https://www.multistate.us/resources/2026-gubernatorial-candidates" }, { "title": "Chapter 653: Election of Officers and Delegates", "url": "https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LXIII/653/653-mrg.htm" }, { "title": "Michigan State Constitution, Article V", "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-Constitution-V.pdf" }, { "title": "Seventeen candidates compete in top-four primary for open Alaska governor’s office", "url": "https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/07/08/seventeen-candidates-compete-in-top-four-primary-for-open-alaska-governors-office/" }, { "title": "2026 Gubernatorial General Election State Candidates List", "url": "https://www.elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/general_candidates/2026_GG_statewide_candidatelist.html" }, { "title": "November 2026 List of Elections", "url": "https://hosting.okelections.gov/electionlist.html" }, { "title": "2026 Ballot Certification", "url": "https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/2026-ballot-cert.pdf" }, { "title": "2026 Legislative Races by State and Chamber", "url": "https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/2026-legislative-races-by-state-and-chamber" }, { "title": "NCSL State Elections 2026", "url": "https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/ncsl-state-elections-2026" }, { "title": "State Partisan Composition", "url": "https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/state-partisan-composition" }, { "title": "Members - About", "url": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/About" }, { "title": "Statewide Candidate Filing Guide", "url": "https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/elections/Candidates/Candidate_Filing_Guide.pdf" }, { "title": "Laws - Statute Text", "url": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/laws/StatuteText?article=gsg&enactments=false§ion=2-201" }, { "title": "Elections for ten of 20 seats in the Alaska State Senate are taking place this November, where a multi-party coalition has a majority", "url": "https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/09/23/elections-for-ten-of-20-seats-in-the-alaska-state-senate-are-taking-place-this-november-where-a-multi-party-coalition-has-a-majority/" }, { "title": "North Carolina Constitution - Article 2", "url": "https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/Constitution/article2" }, { "title": "Help - Types of Statutes", "url": "https://ncleg.gov/Help/Topic/231" }, { "title": "Special Elections", "url": "https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/voting-and-elections/special-elections" }, { "title": "Special Election Reporting Dates", "url": "https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/voting-and-elections/campaign-finance/special-election-reporting-dates" }, { "title": "January 13, 2026, Virginia House of Delegates Special Election Candidate Bulletin", "url": "https://www.elections.virginia.gov/media/candidatesandpacs/2026-candidate-bulletins/2026-01-06_Sp_Bulletin_HOD_11_23_12-12-25.pdf" }, { "title": "Judicial Voter Guide: 2026 General Election", "url": "https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/upcoming-election/judicial-voter-guide-2026-general-election" }, { "title": "Spring Election 2026: Judicial offices on the ballot", "url": "https://www.wicourts.gov/news/thirdbranch/dec25/election.htm" }, { "title": "What to Know About Judicial Selection", "url": "https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/what-know-about-judicial-selection" }, { "title": "Information about Iowa's 2026 Judicial Retention Elections", "url": "https://www.iowacourts.gov/newsroom/news-releases/information-about-iowas-2026-judicial-retention-elections" }, { "title": "Los Angeles election ordinance calling the 2026 City and LAUSD elections", "url": "https://cityclerk.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2026/26-1100_misc_11-12-25.pdf" }, { "title": "Los Angeles County Statewide Direct Primary Election: Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee", "url": "https://content.lavote.gov/docs/rrcc/documents/2026-signature-in-lieu-booklet-june-2-2026-v-41%28002%29.pdf" }, { "title": "What are the inherent powers of tribal self-government?", "url": "https://www.bia.gov/faqs/what-are-inherent-powers-tribal-self-government" }, { "title": "Frequently Asked Questions", "url": "https://www.bia.gov/frequently-asked-questions" }, { "title": "Navajo Nation Election Administration: 2026 election announcements", "url": "https://navajoelections.navajo-nsn.gov/Home/ArtMID/603/ArticleID/184" }, { "title": "Navajo Nation Election Administration", "url": "https://navajoelections.navajo-nsn.gov/" }, { "title": "Three measures certified in the past two weeks, bringing the 2026 statewide total to 164 — 11 above the decade average", "url": "https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/09/16/three-measures-certified-in-the-past-two-weeks-bringing-the-2026-statewide-total-to-164-11-above-the-decade-average/" }, { "title": "Statewide Ballot Measures Database", "url": "https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/statewide-ballot-measures-database" }, { "title": "Initiative and Referendum Overview and Resources", "url": "https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/initiative-and-referendum-overview-and-resources" }, { "title": "States Revisit Rules on Citizen Initiatives and Referendums", "url": "https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/states-revisit-rules-on-citizen-initiatives-and-referendums" }, { "title": "The Election and Adoption of Initiatives", "url": "https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/initiative-and-referendum-processes/the-election-and-adoption-of-initiatives" }, { "title": "Statewide Initiative Guide 2026", "url": "https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ballot-measures/pdf/statewide-initiative-guide.pdf" }, { "title": "California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Certifies Measures for the November 3, 2026, General Election Ballot", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2026-news-releases-and-advisories/california-secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-certifies-measures-november-3-2026-general-election-ballot" }, { "title": "Ballot Measures", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures" }, { "title": "Proposition 1 — Official Voter Information Guide", "url": "https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/1/index.htm" }, { "title": "Proposition 2 — Official Voter Information Guide", "url": "https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/2/index.htm" }, { "title": "Proposition 3 — Official Voter Information Guide", "url": "https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/3/index.htm" }, { "title": "Proposition 4 — Official Voter Information Guide", "url": "https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/4/index.htm" }, { "title": "Guides", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/guides/" }, { "title": "House, Senate and presidential candidate registration", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/registering-candidate/house-senate-president-candidate-registration/" }, { "title": "Contributions to Super PACs and Hybrid PACs", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/taking-receipts-pac/contributions-to-super-pacs-and-hybrid-pacs/" }, { "title": "Introduction to campaign finance and elections", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/introduction-campaign-finance/" }, { "title": "Supreme Court finds limits on coordinated party expenditures unconstitutional in NRSC v. FEC (609 U.S. ____(2026))", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/updates/supreme-court-finds-limits-on-coordinated-party-expenditures-unconstitutional-in-nrsc-v-fec-609-us-____2026/" }, { "title": "Statistical Summary of 18-Month Campaign Activity of the 2025-2026 Election Cycle", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/updates/statistical-summary-of-18-month-campaign-activity-of-the-2025-2026-election-cycle/" }, { "title": "October reporting reminder (2026)", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/updates/october-reporting-reminder-2026/" }, { "title": "Campaign Rules", "url": "https://www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/campaign-rules" }, { "title": "Where to File Campaign Statements and Reports - Candidates", "url": "https://www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/campaign-rules/when-and-where-to-file-campaign-statements/candidates/" }, { "title": "Midterm Vote Preferences by Race, Age and Other Demographics", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/10/08/midterm-vote-preferences-by-race-and-ethnicity-age-and-other-demographics/" }, { "title": "Who is in charge of elections in my state?", "url": "https://www.eac.gov/who-is-in-charge-of-elections-in-my-state" }, { "title": "About the EAC", "url": "https://www.eac.gov/about" }, { "title": "Statutes Enforced By The Voting Section", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/crt/statutes-enforced-voting-section" }, { "title": "Elections and Voter Information", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/" }, { "title": "Key Dates and Deadlines", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/general-election-november-3-2026/key-dates-deadlines" }, { "title": "Texas Secretary of State Reminds Voters: October 5 Deadline to Register to Vote in November General Election", "url": "https://www.sos.texas.gov/about/newsreleases/2026/092826.shtml" }, { "title": "Texas Voter ID Requirements", "url": "https://www.votetexas.gov/voting/need-id.html" }, { "title": "California Voter ID & Registration Requirements", "url": "https://vigarchive.sos.ca.gov/2026/primary/voter-info/voter-id-registration-req.htm" }, { "title": "Frequently Asked Questions", "url": "https://www.votetexas.gov/faq/index.html" }, { "title": "Official Voter Information Guide", "url": "https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/" }, { "title": "Overview of Federal Election Laws", "url": "https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/clearinghouse-resources-election-law-policy/overview-federal-election-laws" }, { "title": "How to Vote Absentee", "url": "https://www.fvap.gov/military-voter/overview?os=vb" }, { "title": "Election Results, Canvass, and Certification", "url": "https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/election-results-canvass-and-certification" }, { "title": "Guide to Election Certification EAC", "url": "https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/electionofficials/postelection/Guide_to_Election_Certification_EAC.pdf" }, { "title": "Recounts and Contests", "url": "https://www.elections.virginia.gov/media/grebhandbook/2024-updates/15_Recounts_and_Contests_2024_FINAL.pdf" }, { "title": "Virginia Dept. of Elections: Results", "url": "https://www.elections.virginia.gov/results/?from=mobile_logo" }, { "title": "General Election - November 3, 2026", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/general-election-november-3-2026" }, { "title": "California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., has Certified the Results of the June 2, 2026, Primary Election", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2026-news-releases-and-advisories/california-secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-has-certified-results-june-2-2026-primary-election" }, { "title": "Final Official Election Results - Congressional District 14", "url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/special-elections/2026-cd14/official-canvass" }, { "title": "United States Representative 14th District Special General Election, August 18, 2026 - Certificate of the Secretary of State", "url": "https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/special-elections/2026-cd14/cd14-general-signed-certificate-sos.pdf" }, { "title": "Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) 2024 Comprehensive Report", "url": "https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/2024_EAVS_Report_508c.pdf" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Dates of Sessions of the Congress", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/legislative/DatesofSessionsofCongress.htm" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Constitution of the United States", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Types of Election Cases", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/types_election_cases.htm" }, { "title": "Inside the Chamber on Opening Day", "url": "https://history.house.gov/Blog/2017/January/01_03_2017_Opening_day/" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Constitution", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/constitution.htm" }, { "title": "U.S. Senate: Senate Committees", "url": "https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Committees.htm" }, { "title": "The United States Senate", "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-105sdoc28/html/CDOC-105sdoc28.htm" }, { "title": "Constitution of Michigan of 1963", "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-chap1.pdf" }, { "title": "Texas Constitution, Article IV", "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?artSec=4.4&chapter=CN.4&code=CN&tab=2" }, { "title": "The Florida Constitution", "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution/" }, { "title": "Publication of the Constitutions of California and the United States", "url": "https://www.senate.ca.gov/system/files/2026-04/2025-26_california_and_us_constitution.pdf" } ], "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" }