Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Nov 6
2 Senate, 24-Plus House Races Remain Uncalled as Ballots and Runoffs Delay Congress Picture
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Nov 6

2 Senate, 24-Plus House Races Remain Uncalled as Ballots and Runoffs Delay Congress Picture

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Nov 6

Summary

  • More than two dozen House races and two Senate contests were still unprojected after the midterms, leaving the final margins in Congress unsettled despite Democrats already securing at least 54 Senate seats to Republicans’ 44.
  • Outstanding mail ballots, ranked-choice tabulations and possible runoffs are driving the delays, with Alaska’s Senate race not expected to be finalized for 15 days and Mississippi still awaiting thousands of mail and affidavit ballots.
  • Several unresolved House races could still shift party tallies, including GOP-held battlegrounds in Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona and South Carolina, plus a few Democratic seats under pressure in Maine, Florida and Louisiana.
  • Some of the slowest counts are in the West, especially California and Alaska, where same-party matchups or ranked-choice rules mean several races will take longer without affecting overall control of Congress.

Insights

Why do varying state rules like ranked-choice voting and runoffs create weeks of uncertainty in finalizing national results?
How might recent legal rulings on ballot grace periods reshape the timeline and logistics of future U.S. elections?
Could implementing a standardized national ballot processing system safely eliminate the weeks-long delays seen in current elections?