Thirty-four states finished their unofficial reporting of Nov. 3 election results within one week of the election.
Unofficial results include all Election Day, early voting, and regular absentee/mail-in ballots, but do not necessarily include provisional ballots, cured ballots, or ballots from overseas or military voters. Local and state governments finalize official election results during the canvassing and certification process.
The following map shows which states finished their unofficial reporting as of 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 10.
Twenty-five states finished their unofficial reporting of the Nov. 3 election results by 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 4, and four additional states finished reporting their results by 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 5. Two more states reported their results by 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 6, and three more finished by 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 9.
The nine states that reported their results between Nov. 5 and Nov. 10 are Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Before the election, two of those states had Democratic trifectas, three had Republican trifectas, and four had divided governments.
Sixteen states had yet to finish reporting their unofficial results. The states that were closest to completion were Maryland and Massachusetts, which had completed their results reporting except for absentee/mail-in ballots that arrived after Election Day. The state furthest from completion was California, with 85% of its results reported.
States count ballots and report election results at different speeds. In some states, unofficial election results are usually reported quickly, with nearly full results available on Election Day or shortly thereafter. In other states, it may take election officials weeks to deliver the same results.
This variance results from differences in election administration methods, policies, and priorities across states, reflecting the decentralized nature of election administration in the United States.
Factors that can affect the speed of results reporting include the percentage of voters participating in absentee/mail-in and early voting, absentee/mail-in ballot processing and counting rules and timelines, policies related to tabulation and reporting, and vote counting resources.
Ballotpedia will publish a full report with analysis on results reporting in the 2026 primary and general elections after all states report their 2026 general election results.
This article was originally published by Ballotpedia and is republished under its Creative Commons terms, unedited.