When Are 2026 Election Results Certified? Deadlines by State

Results from the Nov. 3, 2026 general election are unofficial until each state certifies them, and in the 10 states we confirmed, state-level dates run from Thu., Nov. 19 in Minnesota to Thu., Dec. 10 in Oregon, according to each state’s election code or official calendar. Counties canvass first. North Carolina’s county canvass meetings start at 11 a.m. on Fri., Nov. 13, per the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Other states are not in this table yet; check your state election office.

What does certification mean?

A canvass is the official count. Election officials review every valid ballot, including provisional ballots and, where state law allows, mail ballots that arrive after Election Day, and reconcile the totals. Election Night numbers are unofficial. Certification is the formal step that makes the canvassed results official.

Recounts come after or alongside certification under each state’s own rules. The table lists the ones we confirmed.

2026 certification deadlines in 10 states

The table is sorted by state-level date. Dates are for the Nov. 3, 2026 election; weekdays are computed from the statute rule shown.

State	State certification	County or local canvass	Rule
Minnesota	Thu., Nov. 19 (State Canvassing Board meets)	Fri., Nov. 6 to Wed., Nov. 11	County boards meet between the 3rd and 8th day after the election; the State Canvassing Board meets “on the 16th day following the state general election” (Minn. Stat. 204C.33)
Michigan	Mon., Nov. 23	Tue., Nov. 17	County boards of canvassers certify “by the fourteenth day after the election”; the Board of State Canvassers “not later than the twentieth day” (Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) 168.822)
Arizona	Mon., Nov. 23	Thu., Nov. 19	County boards of supervisors “not later than the third Thursday after the election”; Secretary of State “not later than the third Monday” (Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) 16-642)
North Carolina	Tue., Nov. 24 (state canvass scheduled)	Fri., Nov. 13, 11 a.m.	Dates from the State Board of Elections’ Oct. 27, 2026 reporter’s primer
Washington	Thu., Dec. 3 (Secretary of State’s last day)	Tue., Nov. 24	County canvassing boards certify and transmit by Nov. 24 (Washington Secretary of State elections calendar)
Virginia	Mon., Dec. 7 (State Board of Elections meets by this day)	Fri., Nov. 13	Local canvass “not to exceed 10 calendar days,” extendable for a risk-limiting audit (Va. Code 24.2-671); State Board “shall meet by the first Monday in December” (24.2-679)
Oregon	Thu., Dec. 10 (Secretary of State’s last day)	Mon., Nov. 30	County abstracts by Nov. 30 (Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 254.545); Secretary of State canvasses votes and delivers certificates by Dec. 10 (ORS 254.555)
Florida	No fixed date in Fla. Stat. 102.112	Mon., Nov. 16, noon	County canvassing boards file official results “no later than noon on the 13th day following the general election”
Ohio	Set by the Secretary of State’s directive	Tue., Nov. 24	Boards of elections complete the canvass “not later than the twenty-first day after the day of the election” (Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 3505.32)
Pennsylvania	No fixed date in the state’s 2026 calendar	Begins by Fri., Nov. 6	County boards begin the official canvass no later than the third day after the election; the calendar notes dates are subject to change

Michigan and Arizona share Mon., Nov. 23. Washington’s counties and North Carolina’s state canvass share Tue., Nov. 24, the same day Ohio’s county canvass is due.

What happens in what order?

1. Nov. 3: Election Day. Counts released that night are unofficial.
2. Nov. 6 to Nov. 17: County and local canvasses. Pennsylvania counties begin by Nov. 6, Minnesota’s boards meet Nov. 6 to Nov. 11, North Carolina’s and Virginia’s are Nov. 13, Florida’s results are due at noon on Nov. 16 and Michigan’s counties certify by Nov. 17.
3. Nov. 19 to Nov. 24: The first state-level dates: Minnesota on Nov. 19, Michigan and Arizona on Nov. 23, North Carolina on Nov. 24.
4. Nov. 24 to Nov. 30: Ohio’s county canvass is due Nov. 24 and Washington’s counties certify by then; Oregon’s county abstracts are due Nov. 30.
5. Dec. 3 to Dec. 10: Washington’s Secretary of State on Dec. 3, Virginia’s State Board of Elections by Dec. 7, Oregon’s Secretary of State on Dec. 10.

Runoffs follow in some states; see the runoff dates for Georgia on Dec. 1 and Louisiana on Dec. 12.

When do recounts happen?

Recount triggers and deadlines differ by state. Those we confirmed:

State	Recount rule
North Carolina	County-level requests due by 5 p.m. Mon., Nov. 16; state-level requests received by noon Tue., Nov. 17. Statewide margin of no more than 0.5% of votes or 10,000 votes, whichever is fewer; non-statewide 1% or less (State Board of Elections)
Pennsylvania	The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s deadline to order a statewide recount, for a margin of 0.5% or less, is 5 p.m. Thu., Nov. 12 (2026 General Election Calendar)
Michigan	Automatic statewide recount if the margin is 0.1% or less of the total votes cast in that statewide election (MCL 168.880a)
Oregon	Last day to file a recount demand is Tue., Dec. 15 (ORS 258.161)

Oregon’s calendar also lists Nov. 10 as the last day to receive valid postmarked ballots.

When does Congress take office after certification?

The new Congress’s terms begin at noon on Jan. 3, 2027, under Section 1 of the 20th Amendment; that day is a Sunday. Our story on when 2026 election winners take office covers swearing-in dates for Congress and governors.

Which states are not in the table?

All other states, including California, Texas, Georgia, New York, Wisconsin, Illinois and Nevada, are not in this table yet. We list a date only when we confirmed it in state law or an official state calendar. Check your state or county election office. For when results are expected to come in, see when we will know the 2026 midterm results.

To mark the dates, use our November 2026 printable calendar and December 2026 printable calendar, and the printable below.