American ballot boxes closed: four states still undecided

According to CNN, in four states it is still unclear whether a Democrat or Republican will be elected in the midterm elections. Republicans must win in three of the four states if they want to take control of the Senate.

The US House of Representatives and Senate can be compared to the Dutch House of Representatives and Senate. President Joe Biden’s Democrats had a narrow majority in both chambers on the eve of the election.

Five seats

For a majority in the House of Representatives, Republicans need to win five seats from Democrats, which seems possible. It’s not the monster victory the Republicans were hoping for, RTL News correspondent Erik Mouthaan believes:

In the Senate, the two parties are too close to make a prognosis. If the ratio remains at 50 to 50, the Democrats will retain their majority as Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will then provide a casting vote.

pelosi

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi won re-election. If Republicans regain control of the House during those midterms, there will be significant pressure on Pelosi, 82, to step down as House Democratic leader.

Because many voters have already voted by mail in recent weeks, it could be hours before the final results are known. In some states, even days.

Indeed, in most states, mail-in votes are not counted until Election Day itself, often outside of the automated counting process. Nationally, according to the US Elections Project, about 24 million people voted by mail.

The results for around 40 states will probably be known around 09:00 Dutch time.