Item 3 November 2026, at 2218 Beirut time (2018 UTC).American midterms continue with local voting difficulties and new political reactions. In Guam, in the Pacific, a provisional count puts Republicans in the lead for the government and a Democrat ahead of Congressional delegate. In Florida, the floods forced the relocation of offices. In Kansas, a shortage of ballots delayed voters. In Westchester, the authorities clarified the technical origin of the problem of reading the bulletins. These incidents occur prior to the first closures on continental territory, but do not lead to a national result.
In Guam, a first provisional count
In the Pacific, where the election day is already over, the Republican ticket Ada-Calvo appears at the top of the vote for the Guam government. The provisional statement issued by the Electoral Commission at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday Guam time gives it 15,945 votes, compared with 14,925 votes for the Democratic ticket. These figures are not yet certified.
For the post of delegate to Congress, Democratic Alicia Limtiaco ahead of Republican James Moylan, with 15,645 votes against 14,983 in the same statement. The Guam delegate does not have the vote in the plenary of the Chamber. This territorial result therefore does not represent a seat won in the calculation of the majority of the 435 representatives.
Donald Trump congratulated Tony Ada in a publication on Truth Social and said he hoped for a sign for the future. This political reading by the President does not allow us to deduce the results of the elections still open in the fifty States.
In Florida, the displaced vote because of the floods
The heavy rains led election officials to transfer 21 polling sites to eight counties in Florida. This includes Brevard, Broward, Highlands, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucia. Some sites host several electoral sectors: therefore, the number of offices displaced does not correspond to the number of constituencies concerned.
Voters have been redirected to alternative locations. In Broward, the office at Paradise Village Clubhouse was transferred to Tree Tops Park. The electoral services have published updated lists to allow people to find their places of voting. Moving an office does not mean closing it without an alternative.
This disruption affects a state where voters also choose their governor and representatives to Congress. It adds a material difficulty to the voting day, but does not constitute a measure of final participation.
In Kansas, Linwood lacks newsletters
In Levenworth County, voters waited more than an hour at the Linwood Community Building. The office lacked news reports from District H-38 of the Kansas House of Representatives, according to information confirmed by the county services on a local television.
New newsletters were printed and sent to the site. The incident therefore concerns a specific location and model newsletter. It does not allow to talk about a general shortage in Kansas. The normal closure of the office remains at 7 p.m. Centre time, or 3 a.m. Wednesday in Beirut.
Westchester: a technical explanation, political accusations
In New York, the state election authority provided a new explanation for Westchester. An amendment to a municipal election required an update of programming after preparation and testing. Scanners keeping the old configuration no longer recognized the bulletins used on Tuesday.
The priority announced is to restore at least one machine in each polling place. Bulletins already collected in emergency bags can then be processed. The State authority stated that it had not identified any defects in the paper preventing its reading once the equipment problem had been resolved.
The incident, however, fuelled accusations of fraud. Laura Loomer, Katie Miller and Republican representative Claudia Tenney challenged the Democrats in publications on X, reported by the press. The technical evidence made public does not establish these charges. Electoral officials maintain that electors can vote and that valid ballots will be counted.
The county official, Ken Jenkins, announced a bipartisan inquiry into failures. Mike Lawler, the Republican representative defending his seat in an electoral district that included a part of Westchester, also invited voters to stay in the line.
Threatening letters before federal justice
The federal authorities also charged Robin Martin, a resident of Oklahoma City, with a case of threatening mail containing white powder. The shipments targeted public officials before the elections of 2024 and 2026.
According to FBI documents released on Tuesday, the substances already analysed were yeast or flour. Not all letters had yet been tested. The man, arrested on Monday, is accused of false alerts and sending threatening communications. These charges do not constitute a conviction.
Midterms remain a mobilization battle
Donald Trump defended his record Tuesday morning on Fox News and called on his constituents to support the Republicans. In the Democratic camp, Kamala Harris issued on Tuesday a call to block his administration from voting. The former Vice-President also asked for further mobilisation after the vote.
Harris’s publication accompanies a speech delivered the previous week in Fulton County, Georgia. It must therefore not be confused with a speech made Tuesday in front of voters. The statements made by both sides express their political objectives, without announcing the outcome of the ballot box.
The stakes go beyond Senate races. The 435 seats in the House of Representatives are renewed, as well as 35 seats in the Senate. The majority in the House is 218 seats when all are filled. The new elected officials will take office in January: Tuesday’s vote does not immediately change the composition of the Congress.
Abortion and tax on billionaires also subject to the vote
The ballot papers also contain substantive decisions. In California, proposal 40 provides for an exceptional 5% levy on the wealth of some taxpayers with more than $1 billion. Revenues must primarily fund health. The official electoral guide presents this tax as one-off, not as an annual levy.
In Missouri, Amendment 3 asks voters to reconsider the constitutional protection of abortion adopted in 2024. The text provides for exceptions, in particular for medical emergencies, fetal abnormalities and pregnancies resulting from rape or incest before 12 weeks. A rejection would leave the 2024 provision in place.
These consultations have their own count. Their result is not confused with the election of a governor, nor with the majority in Washington.
The next step: the first closures
The first offices on the mainland are to close at 6 p.m. on the east coast, in the eastern parts of Indiana and Kentucky. This corresponds to 1 hour Wednesday in Beirut. Sectors of these states in the central zone will close an hour later.
At 2:30 a.m. Beirut time, Ohio, in turn, must complete the vote. California will wait six hours. The first figures will be partial counts, and then agencies will be able to award victories when they have sufficient elements. The official certification then takes place, according to the calendar of each electoral authority.
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