When Will We Know 2022 Midterm Election Results?
A complete guide to poll closing times, vote counting and races to watch in every state.
When are we going to know the results of the midterms? In 2020, due to slow vote counting in many states, it took days — until Saturday, Nov. 7 — for ABC News to declare Joe Biden the president-elect. We likely won’t have to wait that long this year, but it is again possible that we won’t know the winners of the 2022 election on election night. States like Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania that are key to Senate control could take multiple days to count all their votes.
The exact timing of the results depends on the state; each has different rules for when and how votes are counted. But we can make an educated guess based on when each state reported results in its primary election earlier this year.1We used the results for the highest-turnout statewide election on the ballot. If there was no statewide election but there was a primary in every House district, we used aggregated House results. Our data excludes 13 jurisdictions: Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., where ABC News did not cover the primaries; Florida, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia, where at least one party’s primary was canceled for every office, making the data incomplete; Maine, where ABC News covered no statewide races and only one congressional district; Alaska, where the ABC News data did not match data from the Alaska Division of Elections; and Louisiana, which does not hold a traditional primary. (Instead, it is holding an all-party primary on Nov. 8, with runoffs on Dec. 10 if necessary.) If every state reports its results at the same pace as in the primary, here is how election night (and the following day) will unfold. Use the slider to see what percentage of the vote would be reported in each state at various times.2For some states, you might notice that some primary votes got reported, then un-reported. There are sometimes reporting errors in unofficial election-night data. These are not the result of anything nefarious, just human error. They are usually caught and corrected quickly on election night and never make it into the final, certified election results.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the rate of vote counting in the general election will match that of the primary. So we’ve also gathered information from state election officials and Edison Research, which provides live election results to ABC News, about when we can expect 2022 election results.
Even those estimates, though, are not ironclad. If there’s one thing to know about election night, it’s to expect the unexpected. Human error or technical difficulties can delay results. Most importantly, if a race is extremely close, it probably won’t be called for days. Even in states that count votes fast, a small number of provisional and absentee ballots aren’t counted until days later. And of course, if a race goes to a recount or is legally challenged, it can take weeks to declare a winner.
8 p.m. Eastern
The secretary of state’s office told FiveThirtyEight that results will start coming in around 9 p.m. Eastern and be nearly complete around 11:30 p.m. Eastern.
Midnight Eastern in most of the state, 1 a.m. Eastern in the Aleutian Islands
No results will be reported until around 1 a.m. Eastern. Expect occasional updates overnight, but it will take a while to count all the mail ballots. The next update will be Nov. 15, then Nov. 18. However, Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, so those results will reflect only voters’ first choices. The winners won’t officially be known until Nov. 23, when the state conducts its ranked-choice tabulations.
9 p.m. Eastern
No results will be reported until 10 p.m. Eastern, at which point we are expecting to get a big batch of early and absentee votes. Election Day votes will be reported throughout election night. However, the remaining absentee votes will likely take days to count.
8:30 p.m. Eastern
Results are expected to come in pretty fast. Early and absentee votes are typically reported within 45 minutes of polls closing, and all remaining results are expected to be reported by the end of the night.
11 p.m. Eastern
Some results will be reported on election night. But almost everyone in California votes by mail and ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive up to a week later, so full results won’t be in until at least Nov. 15.
9 p.m. Eastern
Counties must report initial results by 10 p.m. Eastern and provide an update by 11 p.m. Eastern. Typically between 70 and 75 percent of votes are reported by 2 a.m. Eastern. The remainder are expected to trickle in over the course of the week.
8 p.m. Eastern
It will vary by municipality, but most, if not all, are expected to be done reporting votes by the wee hours of the morning. Larger cities may need until Wednesday to count all their absentee ballots.
8 p.m. Eastern
Results will start coming in at 8 p.m. Eastern, with updates approximately every 15 minutes. The Department of Elections expects reporting to be complete by around midnight Eastern.
8 p.m. Eastern
The District now votes predominantly by mail, and ballots processed by Election Day are expected to be reported on election night. But ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive up to a week later, so those results will be far from complete. We’re expecting daily updates Nov. 9-15.
7 p.m. Eastern in most of the state, 8 p.m. Eastern in the Panhandle
Florida is one of the fastest states to count its votes. All early and many mail votes (a sizable chunk of the total) must be reported within 30 minutes of polls closing, and Election Day votes are reported within hours.
7 p.m. Eastern
Georgia’s new election law gives counties more time to process absentee ballots and requires them to finish counting all votes by 5 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. This is expected to help the state avoid the delays seen in 2020.
Midnight Eastern
Shortly after polls close, we are expected to see results from ballots received before Monday — an estimated 80 percent of the total. A second batch of votes, including Election Day votes and mail ballots processed by Tuesday afternoon, will be reported at 3 a.m. Eastern. One final update will likely come sometime Wednesday night.
10 p.m. Eastern in southern Idaho, 11 p.m. Eastern in the Panhandle
Initial results (mostly early and absentee votes from the southern part of the state) are expected after 11 p.m. Eastern. Most results are expected to be in by 3 or 4 a.m. Eastern.
8 p.m. Eastern
Most results are expected to be reported on election night, but larger counties, including Cook, may take up to a week. In addition, results won’t be 100 percent final until after Nov. 22, the deadline for absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive.
6 p.m. Eastern in most of the state, 7 p.m. Eastern in the northwest and southwest corners
Nearly all results are expected to be reported on election night.
9 p.m. Eastern
After Iowa passed a law requiring absentee ballots to arrive by Election Day, virtually all results are expected to be reported on election night.
8 p.m. Eastern in most of the state, 9 p.m. Eastern in a few western counties
Most results are expected to be reported on election night, but mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can be received as late as Nov. 11 and still count, so nothing will be final until then.
6 p.m. Eastern in eastern Kentucky, 7 p.m. Eastern in western Kentucky
Nearly all results are expected to be reported on election night.
9 p.m. Eastern
Because Louisiana doesn’t hold a separate primary, we’re flying a little blind here. But the state usually has no trouble reporting all its results on election night. In 2020, results were more or less complete by 1 a.m. Eastern.
8 p.m. Eastern
Unofficial results are expected to be reported on election night, and municipalities must report their official results to the secretary of state within two days of the election. However, in House races where no candidate gets a majority, we won’t know the winners for a while yet. That’s because Maine uses ranked-choice voting for federal elections, and voters’ second- and third-choices will need to be tabulated too. The secretary of state’s office estimates that it will run these tabulations around the middle of the week after Election Day.
8 p.m. Eastern
Results are expected to come in faster than in the primary. A court has suspended the law that barred election officials from counting mail ballots until two days after the election. So 11 of Maryland’s 24 voting jurisdictions, including the state’s largest counties, plan to pre-canvass mail ballots received before Election Day and report their results shortly after polls close, along with the results of early voting. But the other 13 jurisdictions will still wait until Nov. 10 to count their mail ballots, so their results will be very incomplete on election night. Every jurisdiction will report Election Day votes on election night, though. And every jurisdiction will be counting at least some mail ballots until Nov. 18, the deadline for mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive.
8 p.m. Eastern
Election Day votes, early in-person votes and most mail ballots — at least those received before Tuesday — will be reported on election night. Cities and towns can choose to count mail ballots received Tuesday on election night or after Nov. 12 (the last day for mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive and still be counted).
8 p.m. Eastern in most of the state, 9 p.m. Eastern in parts of the Upper Peninsula
Michigan recently passed a law to allow clerks to process absentee ballots earlier, but many counties didn’t have time to implement it before the election. The secretary of state is therefore estimating full results could take as long as 24 hours.
9 p.m. Eastern
Initial results are expected to be reported by 9:15 p.m. Eastern, and the secretary of state expects nearly all results to be in by 1 a.m. Eastern. If there are delays, counting is expected to wrap up by Wednesday evening.
8 p.m. Eastern
Virtually all results are expected to be reported on election night. Absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day have until Nov. 15 to arrive. But Mississippi requires an excuse to cast an absentee ballot, so there shouldn’t be many.
8 p.m. Eastern
Full results are expected to be reported on election night.
10 p.m. Eastern
Results will start rolling in shortly after 10 p.m. Eastern, and the secretary of state’s office said it will continue to release updates throughout the week.
9 p.m. Eastern
The Nebraska secretary of state’s office tentatively estimates that 95 percent of results will be reported by 1 a.m. Eastern. After election night, though, results won’t be updated again until Friday.
10 p.m. Eastern
Nevada doesn’t allow any results to be reported until the last voter in line has voted, and that can take hours after polls nominally close. (In the primary, it wasn’t until 12:42 a.m. Eastern.) At that point, counties will report the bulk of their results. However, some mail ballots will still be outstanding since Nevada accepts mail ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive by Nov. 12. Those could matter in a close race. Results will continue to roll in until Nov. 15.
7 p.m. Eastern in most of the state, 7:30 p.m. Eastern in two towns, 8 p.m. Eastern in 20 other cities and towns
A spokesperson for the secretary of state told FiveThirtyEight, “We expect 100 percent of the unofficial results to be reported on election night.”
8 p.m. Eastern
Most ballots are expected to be reported on election night. But New Jersey accepts mail ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive as late as Nov. 14, so results won’t truly be complete until then.
9 p.m. Eastern
First results are expected to be in not long after polls close, and nearly all votes are expected to be reported on election night.
9 p.m. Eastern
A new law in the state allows absentee ballots to be processed before Election Day, which is expected to dramatically speed up vote counting compared with the agonizingly slow pace of 2020. Results from New York City are expected to start coming in around 9:30 p.m. Eastern, followed by the rest of the state. While mail ballots can still arrive as late as Nov. 15 if postmarked by Election Day, most results are expected to be reported on election night.
7:30 p.m. Eastern
Early votes and absentee votes received by Monday afternoon (which together constitute the vast majority of votes) will be reported within 90 minutes after polls close. Election Day votes will then be reported starting around 8:30 p.m. Eastern until around midnight. However, North Carolina accepts mail ballots postmarked by Election Day until Nov. 14, so whatever’s remaining after Tuesday will take a few days.
8 p.m. Eastern in most of the state, 9 p.m. Eastern in the southwest corner
Results will start coming out at 9 p.m. Eastern, and the secretary of state’s office said its goal is for most results to be in by midnight Eastern.
7:30 p.m. Eastern
Shortly after polls close, counties will report the early vote and all mail votes counted up to that point. Election Day votes will trickle in over the next several hours. However, Ohio counts mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 7 that arrive as late as Nov. 18, so there will be some outstanding ballots until then.
8 p.m. Eastern
According to the state Election Board, the first results are expected around 8:10 p.m. Eastern. All ballots other than provisionals are expected to be reported on election night — likely before 1 a.m. Eastern.
10 p.m. Eastern in part of Malheur County, 11 p.m. Eastern in the rest of the state
Oregon is a vote-by-mail state, and ballots postmarked by Election Day aren’t due until Nov. 15. While most results are expected to be reported on election night, the rest could take time.
8 p.m. Eastern
The secretary of state is keeping expectations low. While Election Day votes are expected to be reported on election night, officials are not allowed to start processing absentee ballots until Tuesday morning. Counting those votes could take days, but there are a few reasons to think it will take less time than it did two years ago. First, it’s likely that fewer absentee ballots will be cast this year than in 2020. Counties are also more experienced and prepared for a large volume of absentees. And most counties are only allowed to stop counting once they’re done. Several counties told the Philadelphia Inquirer that they expect to be mostly done counting by Wednesday morning, though Philadelphia may take a few days.
8 p.m. Eastern
According to the state Board of Elections, initial results will be reported shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern. More than 95 percent of the vote is expected to report within two hours.
7 p.m. Eastern
Full results are expected to be reported on election night.
8 p.m. Eastern in eastern South Dakota, 9 p.m. Eastern in western South Dakota
No results will be reported until the last polls close, but then they are expected to come in quickly.
8 p.m. Eastern
Virtually all results are expected to be reported on election night.
8 p.m. Eastern in most of the state, 9 p.m. Eastern in the western tip
Early votes and all mail ballots received by the close of polls will be reported very quickly after polls close, followed by Election Day votes. However, mail ballots postmarked by Election Day have until Wednesday to arrive, so counting won’t wrap until those are in. Counties are required to report full unofficial results within 24 hours of polls closing. But sometimes, larger counties have to seek court orders because they can’t report everything by then.
10 p.m. Eastern
Get ready to wait. Utah votes almost entirely by mail, and ballots postmarked by Nov. 7 are due seven to 14 days after Election Day (depending on the county). That means Utah will still be reporting results until at least Nov. 22.
7 p.m. Eastern
Vermont votes by mail, but ballots must be received (not postmarked) by Election Day, so most results are expected to be reported on election night. According to the secretary of state’s office, we are expected to see the first results around 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Unofficial results are expected to be nearly complete by 11 p.m. or midnight.
7 p.m. Eastern
Results will update every 15 minutes after polls close, and the vast majority of results are expected to be reported on election night. However, mail ballots are due on Nov. 14, so we will have to wait a bit for the last batch of votes.
11 p.m. Eastern
It’s going to take a while. Washington is a vote-by-mail state, and ballots only have to be postmarked by Election Day, not necessarily received by then. Typically, counties report a large batch of votes right after polls close, with hourly updates for the rest of election night. Then, counties report the results of later-arriving ballots at the end of every day until all ballots are counted. This year, the secretary of state’s office is anticipating that between 40 and 50 percent of the vote will be reported on election night, and the vast majority will be reported by Friday. However, the numbers won’t be final until the results are certified on Nov. 29.
7:30 p.m. Eastern
Historically, county clerks have begun reporting election results within an hour or two of polls closing, and results are more or less complete by 1 a.m. Eastern. However, West Virginia accepts mail ballots postmarked by Election Day until Nov. 14, and those ballots aren’t counted until that day. So if an election is super close, the winner may not be known for about a week.
9 p.m. Eastern
Because Wisconsin isn’t allowed to process absentee ballots until Election Day, in 2020 many counties didn’t report results until early Wednesday morning. However, 2022’s smaller number of absentees to count will hopefully mitigate those delays this year.
9 p.m. Eastern
The secretary of state’s office expects the first few counties to report results around 10 p.m. Eastern. Historically, most results have been in by 2 a.m. Eastern.
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