The 2026 midterms, explained: what's on the ballot Nov. 3 and how to find yours

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Federal law, 2 U.S.C. 7, sets the day for electing Representatives as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even-numbered year. USAGov says Senate elections happen on the same cycle. These are midterms, the elections held halfway between presidential races.

Congress

According to USAGov, the federal government's information site:

• House: all 435 seats are on the ballot. Members serve two-year terms.
• Senate: about a third of the 100 seats are up. Senators serve staggered six-year terms, so not every state has a Senate race this year.

The results decide who represents each state in Congress, and which party holds a majority in each chamber for the next two years.

The Louisiana exception

Louisiana's House races run on their own calendar this year. Louisiana's congressional primaries, originally set for May 16, were postponed to November 3, and the state enacted a new congressional map on May 29, after the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures' redistricting tracker. The tracker says the general election falls on the state's regularly scheduled December 12 election date.

Several other states will also vote under changed House maps this fall; the tracker was last updated September 11, and some of those maps are in litigation. Our redistricting explainer has the details.

Questions beyond the candidates

Depending on where you live, your ballot may include statewide questions. A few that touch issues we cover:

• Missouri: a referendum seeking to repeal the congressional map the legislature adopted in 2025. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on September 3 that the referendum qualified and paused the 2025 map until voters decide, putting the 2022 map back in effect for now, according to NCSL.
• Maryland: a constitutional amendment, referred by the legislature in HB 2100, that would apply the state constitution's redistricting criteria only to state legislative maps, not congressional maps. NCSL says the Maryland Supreme Court allowed it onto the ballot on September 3 but ordered the ballot language rewritten after finding the original text misleading.
• Massachusetts: Question 8, a citizen initiative that would repeal the laws allowing retail adult-use marijuana sales, effective Jan. 1, 2028, while keeping small-amount possession legal for adults 21 and over.
• Idaho: HJR 4, a proposed constitutional amendment that would give only the legislature the power to legalize marijuana, narcotics or other psychoactive substances.

This list isn't complete. Many states have other measures, and local ballots add more.

How to find what's on your ballot

We don't run a ballot lookup. Official sources are more reliable:

1. Your state or local election office. USAGov keeps a directory by state for registration, polling places, sample ballots and results.
2. Sample ballots and voter guides. USAGov recommends reviewing them before you vote. They list candidates and state and local questions.
3. Voter ID. Each state sets its own ID rules, and most require identification to vote in person. Check yours before you go.

You can't vote online in U.S. federal elections. Early-voting and mail-ballot deadlines vary by state, so check with your election office.

Sources

• USAGov, Congressional elections and midterm elections
• 2 U.S.C. 7, time of election (Cornell LII)
• USAGov, State and local election offices
• USAGov, Voting on Election Day
• NCSL, Changing the Maps
• Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2026 Question 8
• Idaho Legislature, proposed amendment (HJR 4)

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources. Written and edited by The Whole Read newsroom under Monsaur Othman's editorial standards. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.