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Elections Ballotpedia is covering in November 2026

By

Kate Carsella
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In November 2026, Ballotpedia is tracking 45,041 elections across 55 states and territories. These include 57 state, D.C., and territory-wide elections, 1,849 special elections held to fill vacancies in 38states, and 16recall elections in five states.

Last month, Ballotpedia tracked 10elections across sevenstates. This included zerostatewide elections, fivespecial elections, and threerecall elections.

In November 2024, Ballotpedia tracked 40,712 elections in 57 states and territories, and in November 2022, Ballotpedia tracked 27,540 elections in 56 states and territories.

Upcoming elections:

This month, the following states and territories have regularly scheduled statewide elections:

The following federal and state-level special elections have been called:

Ballotpedia is also tracking 38,181 municipal elections in 50 states. This includes 1,796 special municipal elections. Below is a list of local special elections that overlap state capitals, the 100 largest cities by population, or the 200 largest school districts by enrollment:

The following recall elections have been called:

In context:

To help navigate the tens of thousands of elections taking place on Nov. 3, we've compiled a list of our top 50 elections to watch. We selected these elections based on past results, unique circumstances, and election race ratings. The final selections include a mix of congressional, state, and local races. Click here to see the full list.

Here’s a brief overview of each office type we included in our list.

U.S. Senate: Republicans are defending 22 seats, and Democrats are defending 13. Currently, Republicans have a 53-45 majority, with two independents caucusing with Democrats. To win back the majority, Democrats need a net gain of four seats. Republicans can afford to lose only three seats and still maintain control. Vice President J.D. Vance (R) could cast tie-breaking votes in the event of a 50-50 tie.

Our list of top 50 elections to watch includes the Senate races in Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Texas.

U.S. House: Republicans have a 218-214 majority with one independent who caucuses with Republicans and two vacancies. Democrats need a net gain of three districts to gain a majority, while Republicans can afford to lose only two districts and maintain control.

We included the following U.S. House races in our list: FL-14, MI-7, MI-10, NY-17, NC-11, OH-7, PA-7, PA-8, TX-15, and WI-3.

Governors: There are 36 offices up, and Democrats and Republicans each hold 18. There are currently 26 Republican governors and 24 Democratic governors. We included the following gubernatorial elections in our list: Alaska, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Attorneys General: Thirty offices are up. Of those, Democrats currently control 16 offices and Republicans 14. Nationally, there are 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. We included the following attorney general elections in our list: Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin.

Secretaries of State: There are 26 offices up, and Democrats and Republicans each hold 13. There are 25 Republican secretaries of state and 22 Democratic secretaries of state nationally. We included the secretary of state elections in Indiana and Michigan among our top 50 races to watch.

Other state executive elections: There are 296 state executive offices up for election across 43 states. In addition to the offices we mentioned above, these also include various down-ballot offices such as state financial officers, education officers, and commissioners. We included the elections for the Georgia Public Service Commission and the California Insurance Commissioner in our top 50 races to watch.

State supreme court: Sixty-five of the country's 344 state supreme court seats are up for election this year. Nonpartisan justices control 46 of the state supreme court seats up for election, Republicans control 13, and Democrats control six. We included the state supreme court elections in Montana, North Carolina, and Utah in our top 50 races to watch.

State legislatures: Members of 88 of the country's 99 state legislative chambers are up for election. In total, this includes 6,137 of the country's 7,386 state legislative seats. Republicans hold majorities in 57 chambers, and Democrats in 39. Two chambers are organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber is split evenly between both parties. Republicans control 4,061 seats, and Democrats control 3,238. Independents control 28 seats, and 59 are vacant. The elections for both state legislative chambers in Alaska, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are on our list of top 50 races to watch.

Local: Ballotpedia's local election coverage includes comprehensive ballot coverage for municipal and judicial elections in the top 100 cities by population, as well as races in the large counties that overlap them. In the state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities, it includes coverage of mayoral, city council, and district attorney elections. It also includes school board elections in the top 200 largest school districts by enrollment. We selected three local elections among our top 50 races to watch. These included the elections for mayor of Los Angeles, the Baltimore Public School System, and the Omaha Public Power District.

Additional reading:

This promo post was compiled by Kate Carsella, with contributions from Emma Burlingame and Lara Bonatesta.