Control of the House and Senate may not be immediately clear on election night, and some of the 2026 midterm election calls will take longer than others.
uncertain
some → take → others
But that's not unusual or an indication of fraud, as some candidates may claim.
uncertain
candidates → claim → fraud
As the nation watches to see how the elections unfold on Tuesday night, election experts advise voters against listening to politicians who cry foul without offering evidence of fraud as ballots are being cast or counted.
asserted
ballots → watch → fraud
And when they're close, the results are likely to come later.
asserted
results → come → ?
David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research and a CBS News contributor, says he has some doubts about whether Americans will even know who controls the House or Senate on election night.
asserted
who → say → night
"If we do, then there's a very big wave going on," Becker said.
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Becker → do → ?
Candidates "who think they're doing poorly are going to be spreading lies and disinformation about it"
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they → think → it
Becker says there is a type of candidate who's likely to complain early and often about the integrity of the election.
asserted
who → say → election
"It's almost certain that the candidates who think they're doing poorly are going to be spreading lies and disinformation about it, trying to fill that vacuum," Becker said, adding that he believes President Trump "will probably spread lies and disinformation about the election on election night because he did it in 2020."
asserted
he → think → 2020
When the president was asked last week if he would accept the results of the midterms, whatever the outcome, he responded, "I will if they're honest elections."
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they → ask → midterms
Lawrence Norden, vice president of the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, is concerned about the spread of misinformation on election night and afterward.
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Norden → concern → night
He says it "flourishes in that period of time between voting and getting the results" and suggests that "period of time" will be longer when the race is close.
uncertain
race → say → time
"When it's super close, it's not going to matter how fast you are counting the ballots," Norden said.
asserted
Norden → go → ballots
"Our perception of counting speed is not related to actual counting speed"
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perception → relate → speed
Becker points out that "our perception of counting speed is not related to actual counting speed."
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perception → point → speed
Election officials "are racing to unofficially count as many ballots as possible and report them out," he said, "but our perception is largely driven by when the media calls elections."
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media → race → elections
News outlets, including CBS News, project election winners based on their analysis of the ballots that have been counted, and this is partly driven by the margin of victory.
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this → include → victory
The bigger the margin of victory, the more quickly a winner can usually be projected, though this also depends on the determination by news outlets of the amount of the vote that remains outstanding and the character of those votes.
asserted
that → project → votes
California, the nation's largest state, is likely to have both races that are called very quickly and others that could take days or even weeks to call.
uncertain
that → have → days
William Gates, executive director of the Arizona State University's Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory, noted that for some California contests, "they call the race at 8:01 (p.m.) because we all know the Democrat's going to win."
asserted
Democrat → note → 8:01
Those races don't attract much notice.
asserted
races → attract → notice
But he added that "we had some
that people were paying a lot of attention to — mayor of Los Angeles, the California governor's race."
asserted
people → add → Angeles
It took several days to finalize who would move on to the general elections in both those races.
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who → take → races
Part of the reason it took so long to determine the outcome of those closely watched primaries is that mail ballots — which can be received until a week after Election Day if they are postmarked that day — took longer to be counted.
asserted
they → take → Day
All registered voters in California may vote by mail and are sent ballots.
uncertain
voters → register → ballots
Mail ballots must undergo signature verification, and those received before Election Day can be processed beforehand, but they are not counted until after polls close.
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polls → undergo → Day
Mail ballots received on Election Day or later end up being counted more slowly since they must undergo the signature verification process before they can be counted.
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they → receive → process
Gates, a former member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, knows what it's like to live under a microscope.
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it → know → microscope
Arizona's Maricopa County endured intense scrutiny over the 2020 presidential election when Joe Biden won the Republican-leaning state, the first Democrat to do so since Bill Clinton in 1996.
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Biden → endure → 1996
Though Fox News called Arizona for Biden on election night, CBS News and other networks did not project him as the winner for nine more days, until
.
asserted
News → call → days
Gates said his family received threats over that election.
asserted
family → say → election
"The reality is that Arizona doesn't really take any longer to count the votes than other states," Gates said.
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Gates → take → states
"But the reason that they can attack us while they, you know, don't receive any comments is because we have very close elections," Gates said.
asserted
Gates → attack → elections
"We are one of the few swing states left, and Maricopa is sort of the quintessential swing county."
asserted
Maricopa → leave → states
Becker said all the ballots simply can't be counted on election night.
asserted
ballots → say → night
"Election officials have never completed counting on election night," he said.
asserted
he → complete → night
"It can't be done.
asserted
It → do → ?
So it's going to take some time, and every state takes weeks to certify the election.
asserted
state → go → election
Still, some states do take longer than others to count votes, especially states with high numbers of mail-in ballots.
asserted
states → take → ballots
In Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the counting is also slowed by the fact that state law prevents election officials from even processing mail ballots until the morning of Election Day.
asserted
law → slow → Day
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
