The US midterm elections take place on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, when Americans vote for all 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships, with the first results due from 01:00 SAST on Wednesday.
According to forecaster Decision Desk HQ, Democrats had an 80% chance of winning the House and a 57% chance of taking the Senate as of Tuesday, 27 October 2026. Midterms are held halfway through a president’s four-year term, which makes them a measure of voter sentiment toward the sitting president, Donald Trump.
US midterm elections results: poll closing times in SAST
Voting ends in stages across the United States. The times below are Eastern Time, followed by SAST on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. Polls in parts of Indiana and Kentucky close at 18:00 (01:00 SAST), Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina at 19:00 (02:00 SAST), and North Carolina and Ohio at 19:30 (02:30 SAST). Pennsylvania, most of Michigan and most of Texas follow at 20:00 (03:00 SAST).
The last polling places close in Alaska, where most sites shut at 00:00 (07:00 SAST), the same hour that voting stations in South Africa’s local government elections open on Wednesday. The final Aleutian Islands site closes at 01:00 (08:00 SAST), so the complete American count straddles South Africa’s own polling morning.
What is at stake in the US midterm elections
All 435 House seats are decided every two years, while senators serve six-year terms, so about a third of the Senate faces voters each midterm. Republicans hold the Senate 53 to 47. Because Vice President JD Vance casts the tie-breaking vote in a 50-50 chamber, Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control, and a net gain of three in the House.
The forecaster rates North Carolina as the Democrats’ best chance of a Senate pickup, with Democrats narrowly ahead in Alaska, Maine, Texas and Ohio, narrowly behind in Iowa and level in Kansas. Democrats also lead in Georgia, Michigan and Minnesota, which they are defending. Special elections for Senate seats in Ohio and Florida are also on the ballot.
When the US midterm elections will be called
Some races are called within minutes of polls closing, but states that count mail ballots for days can take a week or more. Oregon, for example, counts mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days. Control of the Senate may not be known on election night, and close contests could go to recounts or runoffs.
Republican-led redistricting is expected to hand the party a few redrawn, deep-red House seats, which is part of why Democrats need only a small net gain to flip the chamber. The 2022 midterms show how long the wait can run. Control of the House was not called until Wednesday, 16 November 2022, eight days after voting day.
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