Why it could take a while to know who will control Congress
Summary
Control of Congress may not be clear on Election Day because some states take days to count ballots and ranked-choice voting can delay results. The Associated Press says it will call races only when no remaining outcome could let trailing candidates win.Key Facts
- All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are up for election, and the AP will call those races.
- A party needs 218 seats for a House majority; Republicans currently have 219 members caucusing with them, with two House vacancies.
- Democrats need 51 Senate seats for control, while Republicans need 50 because Vice President JD Vance can break a tie.
- Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate edge.
- In 2022, the AP called Senate control four days after Election Day and House control eight days after.
- In 2024, the AP called Senate control the day after Election Day and House control eight days later.
- California counted half its votes after Election Day in 2022, and thousands of mail ballots were dropped off there on Election Day.
- Alaska and Maine use ranked-choice voting, which can delay results if no candidate wins more than half of first-choice votes.
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