The 2022 midterm elections are over — or at least the voting is over. Many of the biggest races were called Tuesday night, but other results may not come in for days or weeks to come.
How did the elections go, for you, and your family and your community? What questions do you have about the process and the results? We’d love to hear your questions.
What happens next? It’s complicated, because every state has its own slightly different process. But here’s an overview of how it is generally supposed to work, from the National Association of State Election Directors: After the ballots are cast and the polls close, ballots and electronic vote records are securely transferred to local elections’ offices. That’s where election officials count as many ballots on election night as possible. In Colorado, absentee or mail-in ballots begin to be processed 15 of days before Election Day. Most news organizations, including this station, rely on the Associated Press to call elections on election night based on those preliminary and unofficial vote counts.
After Election Day, election officials continue to count all eligible ballots, including provisional ballots, absentee or mail-in ballots, and ballots cast by military and overseas voters. This is called the official canvass of results.
For federal, statewide and state legislative elections — like these midterms — local election officials must certify their results to the state election office within 22 days following the election. Then, a Chief Election Official, usually the Secretary of State, reviews results from all local jurisdictions and certifies the results.
Certified results are final.
Usually that all happens relatively quickly, but this year, the process in many places may be slowed by recounts for close races, audits of the vote if the count is challenged, lawsuits charging fraud and, in some cases, run-off elections after the election is certified.
KUNC is part of a community-powered journalism project to answer any questions you have about the midterms. Our mission is to provide you with the information you need and to make sure you are armed with the information you need TO vote and understand how elections are run and kept secure.
This project is part of the work of America Amplified, an initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to support community engagement journalism in public media. We’re also working with 28 other public media stations across the country to ensure that all eligible American citizens understand the electoral process.
Submit any and all questions about how the midterms went by clicking on the button on the prompt.
You can also text your questions to us! Just text KUNC to 855-670-1777 and follow the prompts to submit a question about participating in the midterm elections. With help from our partners at America Amplified, we’ll answer the questions online, on the air and on social media. We’ll send the answers directly to you as well. If you share your contact information, we may even reach out personally. We can’t do this without you!