US Midterm Elections 2026: Live Results and Updates
US Election: Canadian National Arrested Over Illegal Voting
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced the arrest of a Canadian national in Pennsylvania over alleged illegal voting in American elections. ICE disclosed this in a post on its official X page on Tuesday night, November 3, 2026, stating that the individual was arrested by its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia office on four counts of alleged voting by an alien.
According to ICE, the Canadian national allegedly registered to vote in 2020 and subsequently participated in the 2022, 2024 and 2026 primary and general elections. The agency said the arrest was part of its efforts to ensure that only American citizens decide the outcome of elections in the United States.
US ICE Warns Against Illegal Voting
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has warned individuals against voting illegally, threatening to track down, arrest and prosecute offenders.
The agency issued the warning in a post on its verified X handle on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
“If you vote illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you, and prosecute you.
“There will be no escape,” ICE stated.
The warning underscores the agency's tough stance on illegal voting and its threat to pursue anyone found violating applicable US election laws.
US Midterm Elections 2026: Ramaswamy Casts Vote in Columbus
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has cast his vote in Columbus as voting gets underway in the US midterm elections.
Speaking to reporters before casting his ballot in Columbus on Tuesday, November 3, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy acknowledged challenges facing voters. "It is a tough time. There's no doubt about it," he said. "People are looking not just to make ends meet, but get ahead... This election, especially for the role of governor, just comes down to who's going to allow your family to live a better life."
Fulton County Reports Two Ballot Machine Issues
Fulton County officials say there are two separate ballot machine issues affecting two polling locations and roughly 1,000 early-voting ballots.
There have been persistent paper jams at one location, and another location is having a power issue that has raised concerns about data corruption.
Fulton County initially said it would ask its election board to formally adopt modified tabulation procedures this evening but soon afterwards said in an updated statement that it would ask the election board to rescan the affected ballots in public view this evening.
The county is proposing transferring machine memory cards or rescanning the physical ballots on a central scanner.
Chester County Extends Voting Hours
Voters will have an additional 30 minutes to cast their ballots in three precincts in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the county has announced.
CNN reports that polls will be open until 8:30 p.m. ET in the following precincts: Easttown Township, St. John’s Presbyterian Church and Goshen Baptist Church. After 8 p.m. ET, voters will use provisional ballots.
According to the Pennsylvania state website, a provisional ballot is issued when more time is needed to determine whether a person is eligible to vote, and an extension of voting hours is one of the few instances in which such ballots are used. It allows a voter to cast their ballot while the county board of elections looks into whether it can be counted.
Man Charged Over Powder-Laced Election Letters
Federal authorities have charged an Oklahoma man with sending hundreds of letters containing nonhazardous white powder to public officials ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections.
According to AP News, the powders turned out to be yeast or flour, though not all letters have been fully tested, the FBI said in a court filing made public Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Robin Martin is charged with conveying a hoax and mailing threatening communications. Martin was expected to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Oklahoma City. Online records do not list an attorney to comment on his behalf.
Florida Storms Disrupt 19 Polling Stations
Heavy rainfall in Florida has prompted concerns over voter access, with about 19 polling stations reportedly expected to be relocated on election day. The state is approaching the end of hurricane season, and the bad weather has also highlighted the rising cost of living, particularly home insurance. Florida has the most expensive home insurance in the United States, partly due to flooding, severe weather and hurricanes.
Per Al Jazeera, the weather conditions have also raised questions about their potential impact on voter turnout. About five million Floridians have already cast their ballots in early voting, with registered Republicans holding a slight lead over Democrats, although the margin is smaller than in previous years. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has also expressed some concern about the trend. Heavy rainfall, flooding and the relocation of polling stations could further discourage voters from turning out on election day.
US Midterms: Voting Machines Fail to Accept Ballots
Voting machines in Westchester County, New York, failed to accept paper ballots on Tuesday during the US midterm elections, the county Board of Elections confirmed.
Raquel Brown, executive assistant to Elections Commissioner Tajian M. Nelson, said the county was working to deploy secondary machines capable of processing the affected ballots, CNN reported.
Hand Voting Available as Backup
Despite the malfunction, officials said the county's roughly 700,000 registered voters were not without options. Residents were able to cast their votes by hand while authorities sought to bring additional equipment online to handle the paper ballots.
The Board of Elections did not say how many polling locations were affected or how long the disruption was expected to last.
Trump Says America Is 'Hot Now' as He Sends Final Message to Voters on Election Day
President Donald Trump used his Election Day platform on Tuesday to tell voters that America had been transformed under his watch, describing the country as "hot now" after what he called years of global ridicule.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, Trump argued that the United States had gone from being dismissed on the world stage to commanding the respect of foreign leaders.
"We were terrible two years ago. We were laughing stock all over the world. The leaders of other countries didn't even take us seriously. They thought we were fools. And we're hot now," he said.
According to CNN, Trump pointed to two developments he said showed the strength of his administration's position. He told viewers that oil prices had dropped by ten dollars, which he described as a record fall, and claimed that the United States Navy had established full control of the Hormuz Strait through a blockade.
"Everybody respects us again," he added.
US Midterm Elections: Trump Refuses to Fully Commit to Accepting Results
As voting in the United States midterm elections, President Donald Trump has declined to give an unqualified commitment to accepting the results, saying he would respect the outcome only "if they're honest elections."
According to Al Jazeera, the remark came in response to a direct question about whether he would honour the results even if his Republican Party lost control of Congress. Rather than a clear yes, Trump offered a conditional answer that echoed the doubts he has repeatedly raised about electoral processes in the past.
Trump's conditional language was consistent with a broader pattern. He has previously questioned the integrity of elections, including contests he won, and his remarks in the days before the midterms followed that same approach. By raising questions about whether the vote would be conducted fairly before ballots were even cast, Trump set conditions under which he indicated he might not accept the final count.
The midterm elections carry significant consequences for the balance of power in Washington, with control of the US Congress at stake.
US midterm elections 2026: When polls close and when to expect results
Here's a rundown of the biggest races hour by hour, along with some clues as to how long it will take to count the votes, according to The Associated Press (AP).
All times are in Eastern Standard Time (converted to Nigerian time for local audience).
6pm (12am in Nigeria - WAT)
The first polls of the night will close in most of Indiana and Kentucky, but no statewide winners will be declared in either state until the last polls close at 7 pm. It’s possible to see winners declared in the states’ easternmost congressional districts.
Key contests in this hour include competitive U.S. House races in Indiana's 5th and Kentucky's 6th congressional districts.
7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (1:00 and 1:30 am Nigerian time (WAT)
All polls close at 7 p.m. in six states, including Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia, which tend to complete almost all of their vote counting on election night. In the 2024 general election, the vote count in all three states reached the halfway mark in the 8 p.m. hour. The counts were 90% complete at 10:21 p.m. in Georgia, 11:14 p.m. in South Carolina and 12:07 a.m. in Virginia. In Georgia’s competitive presidential contest, The Associated Press declared Republican Donald Trump the winner at 12:58 a.m.
Most Florida polls will also close at 7 p.m., including in every competitive congressional district, but no statewide winners will be declared until polls in the Central Time Zone close at 8 p.m.
Polls in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia close at 7:30 p.m. All three states also count votes relatively quickly, reaching the halfway point at around 9 p.m. in 2024 and about 90% in the 11 p.m. hour. The AP declared a winner in Ohio’s competitive 2024 U.S. Senate race at 11:27 p.m.
Some key contests to watch in this hour are U.S. Senate races in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Ohio; gubernatorial races in Georgia and Ohio; and U.S. House races in Florida, Indiana, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina.
8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (2:00 am and 2:30 am Nigerian time (WAT)
The 8 p.m. hour is primetime on election night, with polls fully or partially closing in almost half the states, including key states like Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
Florida tends to have one of the faster counts in this time slot, since results in most of the state start releasing in the 7 p.m. hour. In 2024, the Florida vote count was 90% complete by 8:07 p.m.
The 2024 vote counts in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania reached the halfway mark at 10:12 p.m. They reached 90% at 12:48 a.m. in Pennsylvania and 1:42 a.m. in New Hampshire.
Maine didn’t reach the halfway mark in 2024 until 12:54 a.m.
Polls in almost all of Michigan and Texas close at 8 p.m., including in the states’ most competitive congressional districts, but no statewide winners will be declared until the final polls have closed at 9 p.m.
Polls close at 8:30 p.m. in Arkansas.
Some key contests to watch in this hour are U.S. Senate races in Florida, Maine and New Hampshire; gubernatorial races in Florida and Pennsylvania; and U.S. House races in Alabama, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.
9 p.m. (3:00 am Nigerian time (WAT)
This is election night’s other big logjam, with all polls closing in 15 states, including the midterm battlegrounds of Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Texas and Wisconsin.
The 2024 general election vote counts in Iowa, Nebraska, New York and Wisconsin all reached the halfway mark roughly in the 10 p.m. hour, while Minnesota reached 50% of all votes counted at 11:29 p.m. Iowa and New York completed 90% of the count just before midnight, while Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin reached 90% early the next day between 2 and 3:30 a.m.
Kansas, Michigan and Texas all begin releasing votes in the 8 p.m. hour, but Michigan trailed the other two in the 2024 vote count. Kansas and Texas reached 90% counted during the midnight hour, while Michigan didn’t reach that threshold until 4:50 a.m.
Although polls close in Arizona at 9 p.m., the state does not begin releasing results until 10 p.m.
Some key contests to watch in this hour are U.S. Senate races in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska and Texas; gubernatorial races in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Texas and Wisconsin; and U.S. House races in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York and Wisconsin.
10 p.m. (4:00 am Nigerian time (WAT)
Polls close at 10 p.m. in Montana, Nevada and Utah, with some polls closing in the eastern portions of Idaho and Oregon.
Key contests to watch in this hour include U.S. House races in Montana, Nevada and Utah and congressional and gubernatorial races in Arizona, where polls close at 9 p.m. but results are held until 10 p.m.
11 p.m. (5:00 am Nigerian time (WAT)
All polls close at 11 p.m. in California and Washington, as well as the remaining polls in Idaho and Oregon.
Elections in California and Washington are conducted primarily by mail. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day will be counted if received by Nov. 10 in California and Nov. 23 in Washington.
In the 2024 general election, about 38% of the vote in California and about 33% of the vote in Washington was not counted on election night. The count reached 90% in Washington by Nov. 9, four days after Election Day, and in California by Nov. 14, nine days after Election Day.
Some key contests to watch in this hour are California governor, California’s Proposition 40 and U.S. House races in California and Washington.
Midnight and 1 a.m. (7:00 am Nigerian time (WAT)
Polls close in Hawaii and almost all of Alaska at midnight. The final polls of the 2026 midterms close at 1 a.m. in the Aleutian Islands, home of Alaska’s westernmost polling location.
In Alaska in 2024, about 25% of the total vote was not counted on election night. The bulk of the state's mail voting results aren’t expected before Nov. 18, the deadline to receive overseas and military ballots. Mail and early in-person ballots comprised about 35% of the total vote in 2022 and about 45% in 2024
Election Day in America: Voting begins
Voters in several US states are starting to cast their ballots, joining millions who did so before Election Day, according to CNN. The first polls are due to close at 6pm Eastern Time (ET).
US midterm elections 2026: List of Nigerian-American candidates to watch
It is important for you to read the full list of powerful Nigerian-Americans who will shape the future of the US as they are contesting in the 2026 midterm election.
Read more
US midterm elections: Nigerian newspaper reveals party it wants to win
Nigeria has a significant stake in the outcome of the 2026 United States midterm elections, as the results could determine how much influence Congress has over President Donald Trump's foreign policy, military actions, trade and immigration decisions affecting Africa.
In an editorial, Nigerian newspaper Premium Times noted that the elections, which will determine all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 Senate seats, could shape the future of US-Africa relations.
Although Trump is not contesting, his policies are expected to feature prominently in the elections.
Nigeria's security and US military actions
The editorial raised concerns about US military involvement in Nigeria, particularly the strikes in the country's northwest in December, which it described as the first American military strikes on Nigerian soil.
It argued that congressional oversight of Trump's military powers would be important in preventing unilateral decisions that could affect African countries.
Aid, trade and immigration
Nigeria and other African countries also have a stake in decisions concerning US foreign assistance, immigration restrictions and trade arrangements.
Premium Times highlighted the withdrawal of funding for some foreign aid programmes, restrictions affecting citizens of 36 African countries and uncertainty surrounding the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides eligible African countries with preferential access to the US market.
The newspaper warned that a Congress closely aligned with the White House could limit scrutiny of these policies.
Newspaper backs Democrats
While acknowledging the importance of the elections to global affairs, Premium Times openly expressed support for Democrats regaining control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate.
The newspaper argued that a Democratic-controlled Congress could provide stronger oversight of Trump's administration and check policies it believes could harm Africa and undermine international cooperation.
The November 3 elections therefore have implications beyond the United States, particularly for Nigeria's security relationship with Washington, economic interests and diplomatic engagement.
Trump promises $5,000 payout to every American adult if Republicans win November elections
President Trump has pledged $5,000 to every adult American if Republicans won Congress, sparking legal debate and backlash over the $1.3 trillion promise.
Read more
US Midterm Elections 2026: Why Nigeria and Africa Must Watch the Outcome Closely
The outcome of the United States midterm elections on November 3 carries significant consequences for Nigeria and the rest of Africa, PM News, a Nigerian news media, has argued in an editorial calling on African governments to monitor the results closely.
Though the vote will not change who sits in the White House, it will decide which party controls the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Why Nigeria Has a Stake in the Result
Nigeria and the United States cooperate across several areas, including counter-terrorism, healthcare, education, and trade. American financial support has helped strengthen Nigeria's health systems and security capacity, but that support is not guaranteed. Changes in congressional control could shift the conditions attached to such assistance, whether Democrats press harder on human rights concerns or Republicans tie aid to stricter requirements.
The future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is another issue on the line. The programme, which allows eligible African countries to export goods to the United States without certain import duties, is due to expire at the end of December 2026. Congress will play a central role in deciding whether it continues, and on what terms. For Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, the arrangement supports exports, jobs, and inward investment.
Africa Must Build, Not Just Watch
PM News cautioned that African governments should not treat the American elections as a source of solutions. Regardless of which party gains ground, Washington will continue to prioritise its own national interests above those of its partners.
The editorial urged Nigeria and other African governments to diversify trade relationships, build competitive industries, attract investment from multiple sources, and reduce reliance on foreign aid. It also called for stronger institutions and more consistent foreign policy frameworks across the continent.
"Africa needs partners, not permanent dependence," the editorial concluded, adding that the most effective response to political shifts in America is to build stronger economies at home.
The editorial described the midterm elections as a reminder that decisions taken in powerful countries have real effects on ordinary people elsewhere. Nigeria, it argued, must engage Washington through practical diplomacy while doing more to secure its own economic interests.
What are US midterm elections? Key facts you should know as Nigerians, Africans
Midterm elections in the United States are the general elections that are held near the midpoint of a president's four-year term of office, on Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Source: Getty Images
Americans are heading to the polls for the 2026 midterm elections, choosing members of both chambers of Congress in a vote that will shape the final stretch of President Donald Trump's second term in office.
Midterm elections take place every two years, landing in the middle of a president's four-year term. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, along with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate. Voters in several states will also elect governors, with races in California, Florida, Georgia, and Michigan drawing particular attention.
What American Voters Care About
The cost of living is the dominant concern for many Americans, according to a report by BBC. Fuel, groceries, housing, and healthcare costs have all strained household budgets, with inflation still running above the target set by the US Federal Reserve. Democrats have pointed to Trump's trade tariffs as a contributing factor. The war involving the US and Israel that began with Iran in February has also been cited as a driver of price pressures.
Immigration remains a defining issue. Republicans argue that Trump has made good on his 2024 campaign promise to tighten the border, though the crackdown on illegal immigration has been widely criticised. Separately, concern over artificial intelligence has grown in recent weeks, with senior figures from both parties pushing for regulation — a position that puts them at odds with Trump, who has resisted any legal controls on the technology's development.
US Midterms: What Hangs in the Balance
Republicans currently hold majorities in both chambers. In the House, they hold exactly 218 seats — the minimum needed for control — plus the support of one independent. In the Senate, they hold 53 seats.
For Democrats to flip the Senate, they would need to win 51 seats, which would neutralise the tie-breaking vote held by the Republican vice-president. If they succeed in taking either chamber, they would gain the power to bring their own legislation to the floor and launch committee investigations into matters such as corruption allegations, ICE enforcement tactics, and White House spending. There is also an ongoing debate within the Democratic Party about whether to pursue impeachment proceedings against Trump.
The Cook Political Report has identified 18 House districts and seven Senate races — including seats in Alaska and Texas — as genuine toss-ups. Redistricting battles between the two parties have made the outcome harder to predict than in previous years.
Trump's Standing With Voters
Trump began his second term with an approval rating of just over 50%, according to Silver Bulletin. By early October, that figure had fallen to about 37%, with 61% of Americans saying they disapproved of his performance.
Historically, the president's party tends to lose seats in midterm elections. If that pattern holds, Republicans face a difficult night. Should the party retain control of Congress, Trump will be free to press ahead with his remaining domestic agenda.
With Trump barred from seeking a third term, the midterm results are also expected to fuel early speculation about who will compete for both parties' presidential nominations in 2028.
