Independent newsroom

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

The File

Every claim traces to a primary source. Uncertainty is labeled. Corrections are public.

Elections · Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Iowa and South Carolina post unofficial vote counts

The File desk · Nov. 4, 2026, 6:34 a.m. ET

Partially confirmed5 primary sources

Status

Partially confirmed. South Carolina's Election Commission file labeled 12:00 a.m. for the November 3, 2026 general election, and Iowa's election-night summary for the 2026 General Election dated November 3, 2026, list the vote totals below. Neither file says the count is certified. This desk did not open a statewide total for the other states it tried.
  • Partially confirmed
    The vote totals are the figures printed in the two official files this desk opened.
  • Partially confirmed
    The files do not say the results are certified. A canvass and a certification are still ahead.
  • Unverified
    This desk is not reporting which party controls Congress. It did not compile official counts from enough states, and it did not use network projections as a source.
Annie Andrews has 1,034,418 votes for U.S. Senate in the South Carolina Election Commission's file labeled 12:00 a.m. for the November 3, 2026 general election. Darline Graham has 948,133 in that same file.1
Iowa's secretary of state election-night file for the 2026 General Election, dated November 3, 2026, lists Josh Turek with 683,429 votes for United States Senator. Ashley Hinson has 628,799 in that file. The file marks Turek DEM and Hinson REP.2
The Iowa governor line lists Rob Sand and Dave Muhlbauer with 754,086 votes. Zach Lahn and Derek Wulf have 605,709. The file marks Sand DEM and Lahn REP.2
South Carolina's governor file lists Alan Wilson and Mike Reichenbach with 1,046,730 votes. Jermaine Johnson and Sam Skardon have 951,437. The file marks Wilson REP and Johnson DEM.1
These totals are unofficial. A canvass is the later check of the tally, when officials add ballots the law still allows and reconcile the books. Certification is the later official act that makes a result final. Neither file says the count is certified.12
A news organization's call is a projection. It is not a state's certification. This desk is not reporting that any party controls the next Congress, because these two files are not a national seat count.12
The says the terms of senators and representatives end at noon on the 3d day of January, and the terms of their successors then begin. The next such date after this election is January 3, 2027.3
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. In the files this desk opened, Andrews has more votes than Graham, Turek has more votes than Hinson, Sand and Muhlbauer have more votes than Lahn and Wulf, and Wilson and Reichenbach have more votes than Johnson and Skardon. None of those files says a winner is certified. Readers in Iowa and South Carolina are looking at a lead that can still change at the canvass. Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, Georgia, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and Florida did not yield a count this morning, so this is not a picture of Congress.
Thomas Laehn has 41,979 votes on Iowa's Senate line. The write-in line has 1,683. The file's total on that contest is 1,355,890.2
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.South Carolina State Election Commission, 2026 General Election Results page, and the spreadsheet it labels 12:00 a.m. 2026 Statewide General Election Results. The page says the election-night reporting system has been experiencing intermittent issues and offers the download. The file name is 2026-11-03-12AM-General-Election-Results.xlsx. U.S. Senate totals: DEM Annie Andrews 1,034,418; REP Darline Graham 948,133; LIB Kasie Whitener 23,441; CON Mark Hackett 16,722; write-in 4,876; total 2,027,590. Registered voters on that sheet: 3,438,317. Governor and lieutenant governor totals: REP Alan Wilson / Mike Reichenbach 1,046,730; DEM Jermaine Johnson / Sam Skardon 951,437; UNC Michael Addison / Candace Brewer 16,039; GRN Walid Hakim / Arnold E Karr 9,010; write-in 1,135; total 2,024,351. Each candidate total adds election day, early voting, absentee by mail, failsafe, provisional, and failsafe provisional. The sheet does not print a precinct-reporting percentage. The page does not name a time zone for 12:00 a.m. Retrieved 6:22 a.m. ET on November 4, 2026. Page: https://scvotes.gov/2026-general-election-results/ Spreadsheet: https://scvotes.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/2026-11-03-12AM-General-Election-Results.xlsx
  2. 2.Iowa Secretary of State election-night summary, version 385559, election named 2026 General Election, election date 11/3/2026 in the settings file. United States Senator: REP Ashley Hinson 628,799; DEM Josh Turek 683,429; LIB Thomas Laehn 41,979; write-in 1,683; total 1,355,890. The file's percent figures on that contest are 46.3753696833814, 50.4044575887425, 3.096047614482, and 0.124125113394154. Governor and Lt. Governor: REP Zach Lahn and Derek Wulf 605,709; DEM Rob Sand and Dave Muhlbauer 754,086; write-in 1,766; total 1,361,561. The winner field on each of those choices is 0. The summary prints PR 94 and TP 99 on both contests and does not define the abbreviations. Retrieved 6:22 a.m. ET on November 4, 2026. Summary: https://electionresults.iowa.gov/IA/127077/385559/json/en/summary.json Settings: https://electionresults.iowa.gov/IA/127077/385559/json/en/electionsettings.json
  3. 3.National Archives, Amendment XX, the . Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933. Section 1 says the terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified, and the terms of their successors shall then begin. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27

What is still unknown or disputed

  • A precinct-reporting share. South Carolina's spreadsheet does not print one. Iowa's summary prints PR 94 and TP 99 on the Senate and governor contests and does not define those abbreviations in the fields this desk read.
  • The time zone on South Carolina's 12:00 a.m. label. The page does not name one.
  • Whether late ballots change who is ahead. The files are not certified.
  • When either state will certify. The files this desk opened do not say.
  • When the new governors take office. The results files do not say.
  • Official totals from Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and Florida. Those pages did not yield a count this morning.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    2026 General Election Results

    South Carolina State Election Commission · November 3, 2026

    The page lists a 12:00 a.m. 2026 Statewide General Election Results download and says election-night reporting has had intermittent issues. It does not name a time zone.

    https://scvotes.gov/2026-general-election-results/

  2. Source 2

    12:00 a.m. 2026 Statewide General Election Results

    South Carolina State Election Commission · November 3, 2026

    U.S. Senate: Annie Andrews 1,034,418, Darline Graham 948,133. Governor: Alan Wilson and Mike Reichenbach 1,046,730, Jermaine Johnson and Sam Skardon 951,437.

    https://scvotes.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/2026-11-03-12AM-General-Election-Results.xlsx

  3. Source 3

    2026 General Election summary

    Iowa Secretary of State · November 3, 2026

    United States Senator: Josh Turek 683,429, Ashley Hinson 628,799, Thomas Laehn 41,979, write-in 1,683. Governor: Rob Sand and Dave Muhlbauer 754,086, Zach Lahn and Derek Wulf 605,709.

    https://electionresults.iowa.gov/IA/127077/385559/json/en/summary.json

  4. Source 4

    2026 General Election settings

    Iowa Secretary of State · November 3, 2026

    The settings name the election 2026 General Election and date it 11/3/2026.

    https://electionresults.iowa.gov/IA/127077/385559/json/en/electionsettings.json

  5. Source 5

    Amendment XX

    National Archives · January 23, 1933

    Section 1 ends the terms of senators and representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, and starts their successors' terms then.

    https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27