WASHINGTON (AP) — The strength of Democratic majorities in the House and Senate remains undetermined a week after Election Day as more than a dozen races are still too early to call Tuesday.
Democrats are on track to hold 54 seats in the Senate in January, but could get one or two more from Republicans as votes are counted in Alaska and Mississippi. With 255 seats in the HouseDemocrats will have their largest elected majority in the House since 2008, with the potential to pick up several additional seats as remaining elections are called.
Here’s a look at the situation in some of the uncalled races:
Mississippi Senate seat remains too early to call
Late Tuesday afternoon, Democrat Scott Colom was ahead of Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by around 2,600 votes in the legislative elections. Senate race in Mississippi.
There are two key deadlines in Mississippi’s vote-counting process this week: Mail-in ballots must be received by Tuesday, and counties are required to submit their certified results — including counting provisional ballots — to the state by Friday.
It is not clear how many ballots remain to be counted.
Unlike other states, there is no central vote reporting system in Mississippi and few counties post election results online. Instead, Associated Press journalists and analysts communicate directly with each of the state’s 82 counties to get the latest information available on vote counts.
The state will certify its results on December 3.
Monday, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said approximately 14,200 provisional ballots have been processed, of which approximately 80% have been accepted, and approximately 2,700 absentee ballots have not yet been returned.
Mississippi does not have an automatic recount and does not allow candidates to request a recount. Recounts in the state only take place if there is a court order. The AP can declare a winner in a race eligible for a recount if it can determine that the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
Vote counting underway in Alaska Senate race
Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by about 2,500 votes. in the Alaska Senate race Tuesday afternoon, with about 76% of the votes counted. Results for some mail-in ballots are expected to be released Tuesday evening, although final mail-in ballots returned by mail from outside the United States will be accepted no later than Nov. 18, 15 days after Election Day.
Ranked-choice voting could also affect the schedule. Peltola is just over a percentage point short of the majority needed to win outright. If neither candidate receives a majority, the race will move to ranked-choice voting on November 18. The state’s “target date” for certifying election results is November 25.
In Alaska, recounts are only automatic in the event of a tie. Candidates can also request a recount within five days of state certification.
More than a dozen House races still pending
In most of Home shopping who were not called, the gap between the leading candidates was less than 1 percentage point among the votes counted Tuesday afternoon.
In North Carolinafour races remain undecided, the most of any state, and the incumbent Republican candidates were all challenged. There are no automatic recounts in North Carolina, but candidates can request a recount if the margin between candidates is 1% or less of the total vote. The state must receive the recount request by noon Eastern Time on Nov. 17, two business days after the county polls in the state. The state is expected to certify its results on November 24.
In Californiaonly one of the remaining House races, in the 23rd districtwill affect the balance of power in the chamber. The other unannounced race pits two Democrats against each other. Mail-in ballots must be received by Tuesday and counties must certify their results by Dec. 3. The state will certify its results on December 11.
In South Carolina’s 2nd Districta recount is underway in the race between Republican incumbent Joe Wilson and Democrat Zyon Khalia. Wilson led Khalia by only about 3,000 votes in the initial count late Tuesday afternoon, when 99 percent of the votes had been counted.
In 1st District of MinnesotaThe race was still undecided late Tuesday afternoon, with about 300 votes separating the top two candidates and about 99% of the votes counted. Recounts are not automatic in Minnesota, but a candidate can request a state-funded recount if the margin between the winning and losing candidates is less than 0.25% of the vote.
In Tennessee’s 4th Districtthere were about 300 votes between Democrat Victoria Broderick and Republican incumbent Scott DesJarlais late Tuesday afternoon. In this state, recounts only take place through a legal challenge in court. There is no automatic recount and losing candidates cannot request a recount.
Two governorships remain undecided
Democratic Sen. Cindy Holscher led Republican Senate President Ty Masterson in the race for Governor of Kansas by less than 1 percentage point Tuesday afternoon. On November 4, the state announced that a tight audit of election results, requiring a hand count of selected ballots, had been triggered in six close races in Kansas, including the gubernatorial race. The audit must be completed by Nov. 16, when counties must certify their results.
In the race for governor of Alaskaonly about 76 percent of the votes were estimated to have been counted late Tuesday afternoon, and Democratic candidate Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins was ahead of Bernadette M. Wilson by about 45,000 votes, 49.6 percent to 28.9 percent. The race will move to ranked-choice voting if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.
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