Election Officials Prepare for Close Midterm Races Across US

With the 2026 US midterm elections approaching, election officials across all 50 states are preparing to count ballots amid closely contested races and legal challenges. Speaking on CBS News' Face the Nation on November 1, 2026, election law expert David Becker and Senator Bernie Sanders discussed counting procedures, political divisions, and the campaigns that could reshape Congress. More than 52 million votes had already been cast, according to the program's election coverage.

However, tens of millions of additional ballots remained outstanding as candidates made their final appeals to voters. Becker, a CBS News election law contributor and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the closeness of individual races would determine when results could be officially projected. Counting speed alone would not necessarily determine how quickly the public learned the outcome.

He explained that election officials in counties across the country would continue processing ballots throughout election night. Close contests could require several additional days because officials and election analysts need sufficient results to establish whether trailing candidates can still win.

Alaska could face particularly lengthy counting procedures because of its geographic challenges, remote voting arrangements, and time difference with the eastern United States. Becker said several days of counting would remain within normal election procedures if the race were close. He also emphasized that Democratic and Republican representatives would observe ballot processing, including the opening and counting of mail-in ballots. These monitoring arrangements were also widely used during the 2020 election, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alaska's ranked-choice voting system presented another issue because two candidates named Dan Sullivan appeared on the ballot. The state's Republican-led government had asked a federal judge to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to prevent certification of a possible Democratic victory over alleged ballot confusion. Becker said Alaska's courts, including its Supreme Court, had already ruled that both candidates could appear on the ballot. He maintained that the ballot design made the distinction sufficiently clear and that ranked-choice voting procedures would address potential confusion if voters ranked both candidates.

He also welcomed the Alaska governor and lieutenant governor's defense of the state's constitutional authority to administer its elections. Becker said a federal court ruling before Election Day would provide additional clarity. Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, meanwhile focused on Democratic campaign efforts in several states, including Florida, Minnesota, Maine, and Michigan.

He said he was supporting candidates through virtual rallies and town halls because he believed competitive races should not be dismissed based on early political assessments. Sanders highlighted Florida candidate Angie Nixon, praising her grassroots campaign and her performance in the Democratic primary. He argued that economic concerns were resonating with working-class voters across multiple states.

He pointed to the growing concentration of wealth among billionaires while millions of Americans struggle with grocery bills, gasoline costs, and rent. Sanders argued that candidates emphasizing an economy that benefits ordinary households were addressing voters' immediate concerns.

Michigan's Senate race also featured internal Democratic disagreements following the primary defeat of Representative Haley Stevens. Stevens had publicly expressed concerns about advertisements associated with Abdul El-Sayed and his positions on Israel, creating tensions within the party shortly before voting. Sanders defended El-Sayed, saying the candidate had not been responsible for the advertisements under criticism.

He also condemned campaign messages portraying the medical doctor as a terrorist or extremist, describing such rhetoric as racist and unacceptable. El-Sayed's candidacy had also attracted criticism from Republican figures, including Senator Ted Cruz, President Donald Trump, and other political opponents. The controversy included allegations concerning El-Sayed's connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which he had rejected.

Sanders argued that political disagreements over healthcare policy and taxation should not justify attacks targeting a candidate's religious identity. He maintained that El-Sayed was running a strong campaign despite the controversy surrounding his candidacy.

The broadcast also featured New York Republican Representative Mike Lawler and Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro as part of its broader examination of the final campaign push and the political stakes of the 2026 midterm elections.