Key Dates: Election Certification, Runoffs and Deadlines

Two Senate races were still uncalled by the Associated Press as of noon Eastern on Wednesday, November 4. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by a few dozen votes with about 96 percent of votes counted; the state has no automatic recount, but a candidate can ask a court to order one. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by 626 votes with an estimated 74 percent counted; under Alaska law, if no candidate tops 50 percent, the race goes to ranked-choice tabulation.

Georgia holds runoffs on Tuesday, December 1, in any race where no candidate won a majority on November 3, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to Georgia.gov. Mail-in ballots must reach county registrars by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Check the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page for whether your ballot has a runoff, your polling place and early-voting times.

California's county election officials have until Thursday, December 3, to certify their results, and the Secretary of State certifies the statewide Statement of Vote and issues certificates of election on Friday, December 11, according to the Secretary of State. Results will keep changing until then as counties count mail and provisional ballots, so close races and ballot measures may not be decided for weeks.

The stopgap spending law signed September 2 keeps the federal government funded through Friday, December 11. Before then, the current Congress, which keeps its Republican majorities until January, must pass spending bills or another extension to avoid a shutdown. None of the 12 annual spending bills had passed both chambers when the stopgap was signed.

Under the 20th Amendment, the terms of members of Congress begin at noon on January 3, so the House and Senate chosen on November 3 take office on Sunday, January 3, 2027, when Democrats are set to take control of both chambers. Until then, the current Congress, with Republican majorities, remains in session.

Medicare's open enrollment, when people with Medicare can change their health or drug plans for 2027, ends Monday, December 7. For coverage starting January 1 through HealthCare.gov, pick a marketplace plan by Tuesday, December 15; some state marketplaces set later dates.

Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, according to the Associated Press, which called the Senate for the party shortly before midnight Eastern time and later called the House majority, Time reports. Republicans had held the Senate 53 to 47 and the House 220 to 213 going into the election. As of 8 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Democrats had won 54 Senate seats and Republicans 44, with two close races still uncalled, according to Yahoo News's tally.

Democrat Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician, defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina's Senate race on Tuesday, the Associated Press projected, PBS News reports. Andrews becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina; Graham, who was appointed in July after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, was the first woman to represent the state in the Senate.

A child in Lewis County, in rural northern New York, has died after contracting measles, the state's first known measles-associated death in more than 30 years, the New York State Department of Health and Lewis County Public Health said in a joint statement Monday, November 2. 'We extend our heartfelt condolences to the child's family and loved ones and ask that their privacy be respected during this difficult time,' the agencies said. No other details about the child were released.

A Yakima County, Washington, resident who was hospitalized with severe bird flu after exposure at a dairy with infected cattle died Sunday, November 1, the Yakima Health District said; the person had underlying health conditions. It is the first U.S. death from H5 bird flu this year and the third since 2024, after deaths in Louisiana in January 2025 and in Washington in 2025.

Americans vote Tuesday, November 3, in the 2026 midterm elections. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are on the ballot, along with 35 of the 100 Senate seats, 33 regularly scheduled and two special elections to fill vacancies, and governor's races in 36 states and three territories.

With open enrollment underway, the Federal Trade Commission said October 29 that its staff are sending warning letters to 25 companies that market Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans or other health products, such as limited indemnity plans and medical discount programs, or that generate sales leads for them, warning them against deceptive claims, with more letters to follow. If you're shopping for 2027 coverage, compare plans on HealthCare.gov or your state's official marketplace, be wary of ads and callers that pressure you or promise unusually low prices, and know that limited indemnity plans and discount programs are not comprehensive insurance. Report misleading pitches at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

California's recreational Dungeness crab season opens Saturday, November 7, but with two big limits, ABC7 reports. Crab traps are not allowed, because of the risk of humpback whales becoming entangled, so crabbers will have to use hoop nets or crab snares. And north of Fort Bragg, where state scientists found unhealthy levels of domoic acid in crab, taking or possessing Dungeness crab is prohibited.

Open enrollment for 2027 health coverage through HealthCare.gov and state marketplaces begins Sunday, November 1. If you buy your own insurance, plan to pick a plan by December 15: that is the deadline for coverage starting January 1 on HealthCare.gov.

The Federal Trade Commission has ordered nine companies, Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart, to hand over detailed information on whether they use personal data to set the prices customers pay, and in the case of ride-hailing and delivery apps, what their gig workers are paid, the agency said October 28.

Eleven people, including six children, were shot near Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, after a Florida A&M University football game on Saturday, October 24, and police said they were searching for the gunman, CBS News reported. No deaths were reported. News Unc will update this story with arrests or charges.

The Federal Trade Commission has sued GovAssist LLC, Entry LLC and Scott Zuckerman, alleging that since at least October 2023 their websites, including GovAssist.com, Entry.com and IVS.us, impersonated the U.S. State Department or claimed to be affiliated with it to sell passport and visa services, the agency said October 22. The defendants have not had their day in court; the allegations are the FTC's.

An outbreak of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus has reached 9,704 confirmed cases, including 4,687 deaths, across 66 health zones in eight provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of October 20, the World Health Organization said in its October 23 Disease Outbreak News. Nearly half of confirmed patients have died. Of the 482 deaths since WHO's previous update on October 8, 307 occurred in communities rather than treatment centers, which WHO said shows continuing problems detecting cases early and getting people to care.

Yellowstone National Park closes its West, South and East entrances and nearly all park roads to regular vehicle traffic on November 1, the park said October 21. Saturday, October 31, is the last day visitors can drive most of Yellowstone's roads in 2026. The road from Tower Fall to Canyon Junction over Dunraven Pass stays open through October 31, weather permitting.

People 60 and older reported losing about $3 billion to fraud in 2025, up from about $600 million in 2020, the Federal Trade Commission said in its annual report to Congress on protecting older adults, released October 19. The FTC says the rise was driven largely by more reports of extraordinarily large individual losses, and it estimates the true cost of fraud to older adults last year, including losses never reported, could be as high as $119.5 billion.

The Treasury Department and the IRS have proposed regulations changing who can claim the Premium Tax Credit, the refundable credit that lowers the cost of health insurance bought through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. The rules carry out changes in the 2025 tax law and would take effect beginning in 2027.

A 16-year-old opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, October 15, killing three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher, police said, the Associated Press reports. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were critically injured. A community member shot and killed the attacker, police said.

A 45-year-old man shot and killed eight people, including a 1-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy and a pregnant woman, at and outside a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday evening, October 9, then apparently shot himself, police said, Reuters reports. The victims also included three other women and two young men; police said the man was related to seven of the eight. Officers arriving on 911 calls found two women dead outside the home.

Kenya confirmed an imported case in a patient who had traveled from Congo through Uganda and died on October 5, WHO said October 8; contact tracing began in Kenya and Uganda. As of October 6, Congo had recorded 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 deaths across 64 health zones.

Gunfire at an unpermitted homecoming block party in Vienna, Georgia, killed two men and injured 35 people early Sunday, October 4, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. More than 1,000 people had gathered near the Dooly County Recreation Department gym when shots were fired around 1:25 a.m. in at least two places about a block apart, Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy said. Some of the injured were shot and others were hit by cars as people fled; victims ranged in age from 14 to 51.

As of September 23, Congo had reported 7,890 confirmed cases, including 3,799 deaths, WHO said September 25. Two new health zones were affected: Bulu, in Sud-Ubangi in the northwest, a new province, and Dungu, in Haut-Uele near the border with South Sudan, which WHO said increases the risk of spread across borders.

A hacking and extortion group known as ShinyHunters said on Tuesday, September 22, that it had breached the FBI and stolen data on a large number of current and former employees and job applicants, Reuters reported. The FBI said it was aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and was investigating.

As of September 7, Congo had reported 6,757 confirmed cases, including 3,267 deaths, across 61 health zones in six provinces, WHO said September 10. WHO pointed to persistent delays in detecting cases and getting patients to early care as reasons the death rate has stayed near 48 percent.

President Trump signed a stopgap funding bill on Wednesday, September 2, that keeps the federal government open at current spending levels through December 11, after the House passed it 370 to 48 on Tuesday under a procedure that requires a two-thirds majority, Breaking Defense and The Hill reported. The Senate had advanced its version in August.

As of August 26, Congo had reported 5,794 confirmed cases, including 2,786 deaths, nearly half of all confirmed patients, across 60 health zones, WHO said August 28. The outbreak remains a public health emergency of international concern after WHO's emergency committee met on August 18, and updated recommendations to countries followed on August 24.

Sen. Darline Graham won South Carolina's special Republican Senate runoff on Tuesday, August 25, defeating Rep. Ralph Norman with about 52 percent of the vote to 48 percent, according to NBC News's projection and unofficial results. She becomes the Republican nominee for the seat held by her brother, Lindsey Graham, until his death in July.

As of August 12, Congo had reported 4,665 confirmed cases, including 2,184 deaths, across 54 health zones in six provinces, WHO said August 14, calling it the largest Ebola outbreak in the country's history and one expanding faster than any previous Ebola outbreak. The same day, WHO rated the risk very high in Congo, high for neighboring countries and low globally.

Sen. Darline Graham, appointed in July to finish her late brother Lindsey Graham's term, finished first in South Carolina's special Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, August 11, but short of the majority needed to win outright, according to unofficial results. She received about 32.7 percent, Rep. Ralph Norman about 24.6 percent and Rep. Russell Fry about 19.7 percent, with former Gov. Mark Sanford among the other candidates, Decision Desk HQ and NBC News reported.

A gunman killed three people and wounded seven others in a shooting that began in the drive-through of an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Saturday, August 1, before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said, CBS News reports. Those killed were Ashley Garibay, 23, of Stockton, California; Dale Schultz, 66, of Salt Lake City; and Christopher Claunch, 59, of Hagerman, Idaho.

Michigan said Saturday, August 1, that nine of its water systems had been hit by cyberattacks, days after Minnesota reported attacks on about 30 sites, the Associated Press reports. Federal agencies have said water systems in at least seven states were affected but have not named the others. The FBI said it and partner agencies are fully engaged and is investigating; it has not publicly named who is responsible.

As of July 30, Congo had reported 3,605 confirmed cases, including 1,587 deaths, a death rate of 44 percent, WHO said August 1, making it the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported in the country. First confined to the Mongbwalu health zone in Ituri province, it had spread to 49 health zones in five provinces, and the most recent full week brought the highest weekly totals yet, 567 cases and 296 deaths.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, July 21, that the war with Iran has cost the Defense Department about $37.5 billion so far, up from an estimate of nearly $29 billion in mid-May, Military Times reports. He and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified in support of the administration's request for about $67.1 billion in supplemental defense funding.

As of July 15, Congo had reported 2,124 confirmed cases, including 828 deaths, WHO said July 17. Germany confirmed a case on July 13 in an American humanitarian worker medically evacuated from Congo, the second U.S. citizen treated in Germany. Uganda's last patient was discharged on July 16, starting the 42-day countdown required before its outbreak can be declared over.

The House voted 308 to 117 on Tuesday, July 14, to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent and end the twice-yearly clock changes, Reuters reports. President Trump supports ending the clock change. States and territories that now stay on standard time all year, such as Hawaii and most of Arizona, would not be required to switch.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's sister and a former commissioner of the state's Commission for the Blind, to serve the rest of his term, which ends in January, CBS News reports. Graham became her legal guardian when he was 22 and she was 13, after both of their parents died. The appointment does not decide who will be on November's ballot; Republicans will choose a nominee in a special primary.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who served in the Senate since 2003, died Saturday, July 11, at age 71, his office said, after what it described as a brief and sudden illness. Before the Senate, he served four terms in the U.S. House and in the South Carolina House, and he was an Air Force lawyer and reserve colonel.

Congo had reported 1,460 confirmed cases, including 452 deaths, as of July 1, WHO said in its July 3 update. Uganda had 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, plus one probable case who died, though it had reported no new cases since June 21. France confirmed a case on June 24 in a doctor who had returned from Congo.