When will we know California’s 2026 election results?

The count by the hour, election night 2024

The biggest counties, and when each was in

Each percentage is of that county’s own final count, not of the state’s. “none” means the feed showed no votes yet; “not measured” means the feed did not carry the county’s count at that time, which is not the same as zero. A time after 2:37 AM is the first archived copy at that level; the archive has no copy between 2:37 AM and 2:37 PM on Nov. 6, so the count may have passed it earlier.

What comes late, and why

Takes days. The first large report is ballots cast before Election Day; ballots postmarked by Election Day count if they arrive up to a week late, and counties have 30 days. Nearly 5 million ballots (just under a third) were still uncounted a week after the 2024 election, which NYT described as heavily Democratic; MIT found California reported about a third of its vote over roughly a month.

Sources: AP Decision Notes: What to expect in California on Election Day (AP, syndicated by iNFOnews); AP via GV Wire: What to expect in California on Election Day; NYT via GV Wire: California counts methodically as House control hangs in the balance; MIT Election Data + Science Lab: How long did it take to count the vote in 2024? (Baltz); Newsweek: Map shows when mail-in ballots must arrive in each state (2026). These describe the 2020, 2022 and 2024 elections and the rules in force when they were read; they are not a statement about 2026.

The 2026 races here

No race in California is rated Toss-up, Tilt or Lean in our current forecast.

See every race in California, print the Election Night Guide to follow the count, or make your calls in the prediction game.