First polls close in 2026 US midterm elections

Polls began closing in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. Eastern on November 3, marking the first stage of vote counting in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. Voting continued elsewhere as polling places shut at different times across the country. The supplied election-day updates show no congressional result or race call at their stated checkpoints, leaving control of Congress undecided in those snapshots. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats were on the ballot. Voters were also choosing governors in 36 states and deciding state and local contests. The first poll closures were limited to the Eastern time zones of Indiana and Kentucky; their locations in the Central time zone were scheduled to remain open until 7 p.m. Eastern. At 1:05 p.m. Central on November 3, an election update reported no confirmed House or Senate vote totals and no congressional races called. That was a timestamped snapshot from before the first polls closed, not a statement about results later in the evening. The update said the Associated Press had scheduled the first findings from its AP Voter Poll for 5 p.m. Eastern. The survey was described as a voter...