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Ballot Explained

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

The 2026 midterm elections

Every seat in the U.S. House, a third of the Senate, most governorships, and tens of thousands of state and local offices are decided on a single Tuesday. Here’s what’s actually being decided — and how to find out which part of it is yours.

Find my ballot

435

U.S. House seats

Every seat, every two years

33

U.S. Senate seats

Regularly scheduled Class 2

36

Governorships

Most states elect in midterms

50 + DC

Jurisdictions

State and local races everywhere

U.S. Senate

Senate seats on the ballot in 35 states

Senators serve six-year terms in three staggered classes, so about a third of the Senate is elected each cycle. States filling a seat by special election also appear here.

AlabamaAlaskaArkansasColoradoDelawareFloridaspecialGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMontanaNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNorth CarolinaOhiospecialOklahomaOregonRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasVirginiaWest VirginiaWyoming

Governors

36 governorships being decided

Most states deliberately schedule gubernatorial elections in midterm years to separate them from the presidential race.

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIowaKansasMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew MexicoNew YorkOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasVermontWisconsinWyoming

The rest of the ballot

Everything above is maybe a quarter of what you'll vote on.

Below the federal and statewide races sit the offices that decide your property tax rate, run your jail, set your school district's budget, and determine what gets built in your neighborhood. They're on the same ballot, on the same day.

County Commissioner

A member of the board that sets your county's budget and property tax rate.

Sheriff

The elected chief law-enforcement officer of the county, and in most places the operator of the county jail.

District Attorney

The elected prosecutor who decides which criminal charges are filed in your area.

School Board Member

A member of the board that governs your local public school district.

Before you vote

Three things worth doing early.

  1. 01

    Check your registration now, not in October

    Registration deadlines in many states fall 15 to 30 days before the election, and a lapsed registration can't always be fixed at the polls.

  2. 02

    Get your sample ballot and read it at home

    Ballot measure language is dense. Reading it for the first time in the booth is how people vote on questions they didn't fully parse.

  3. 03

    Research the bottom of the ballot, not just the top

    Local contests are decided by far fewer votes and affect daily life more directly than anything at the top of the ticket.