It has been more than a week since voters in the United States cast ballots in the midterm elections.
asserted
voters → cast → elections
But the size of Democrats’ majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate remained undetermined.
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size → remain → Representatives
More than a dozen congressional races are still waiting to be called.
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races → wait → ?
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Democrats → re → costs
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Democrats have already won 54 Senate seats in the incoming Congress in January, but they could pick up one or two more as votes are counted in Alaska and Mississippi.
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votes → find → Alaska
Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, Democrats have notched their largest elected majority since 2008, with 255 seats in the 435-member chamber.
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Democrats → notch → chamber
But they have the potential to add to their lead with several more seats as the remaining races are decided.
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races → have → seats
Here’s a look at where things stand in some of the uncalled races:
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things → ’ → races
Mississippi’s Senate seat remains too early to call
Late on Tuesday, Democrat Scott Colom was about 2,600 votes ahead of Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the race for the US Senate in Mississippi.
asserted
Colom → remain → Mississippi
There are two key deadlines in the vote-counting process in Mississippi this week: Mail-in absentee ballots must be received by Tuesday, and counties are required to submit their certified election results — including tallies of provisional ballots — to the state by Friday.
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counties → be → Friday
It is unclear exactly how many ballots are left to count.
uncertain
ballots → leave → ?
Unlike in some other states, there is no central vote reporting system for Mississippi, and few counties release election results online.
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counties → be → results
Instead, journalists from The Associated Press and analysts communicate with each of the state’s 82 counties directly for the latest available information on vote counts.
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journalists → communicate → counts
The state will certify its results on December 3.
asserted
state → certify → December
On Monday, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said about 14,200 provisional ballots had been processed, of which about 80 percent were accepted, and about 2,700 mail-in absentee ballots had not yet been returned.
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ballots → say → which
Mississippi does not have automatic recounts or permit candidates to request a recount.
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Mississippi → have → recount
Recounts in the state are held only in the event of a court order.
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Recounts → hold → order
The Associated Press may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
uncertain
recount → declare → outcome
The vote count is ongoing in Alaska’s Senate race
Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by about 2,500 votes in Alaska’s US Senate race as of Tuesday, with an estimated 76 percent of the vote counted.
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percent → lead → vote
Absentee ballots are among those that continue to be counted.
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that → continue → those
The final absentee ballots mailed from outside the US are accepted as late as November 18, which is 15 days after Election Day.
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which → mail → Day
Ranked-choice voting could also affect the timeline.
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voting → rank → timeline
Peltola is just over one percentage point short of the majority needed to win outright.
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Peltola → need → majority
If neither candidate wins a majority, the race will proceed to ranked-choice tabulation on November 18.
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race → win → November
The state’s “target date” for certifying the election results is November 25.
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date → certify → results
Candidates may also request a recount within five days of the state’s certification.
uncertain
Candidates → request → certification
In most of the US House races that have not been called, the margin between the leading candidates was less than one percentage point among votes counted, as of late Tuesday afternoon.
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margin → call → afternoon
In North Carolina, four races remain undecided, the most of any state, and Republican incumbents were being challenged in each one.
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incumbents → remain → one
There are no automatic recounts in North Carolina, but candidates may request a recount if the margin between candidates is one percent or less of the total votes.
uncertain
margin → be → votes
The state must receive the recount request by noon Eastern Time (17:00 GMT) on November 17, two business days after the county canvass in the state.
asserted
state → receive → state
The state is scheduled to certify its results on November 24.
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state → schedule → November
In California, only one of the remaining House races, in the 23rd District, will affect the chamber’s balance of power.
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one → remain → power
Mail-in ballots must be received by Tuesday, and counties must certify their results by December 3.
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counties → mail → December
The state will certify its results on December 11.
asserted
state → certify → December
Wilson led Khalifa by only about 3,000 votes in the original tally by late Tuesday afternoon, when 99 percent of the votes had been counted.
asserted
percent → lead → votes
In Minnesota’s 1st District, the race was still undecided late by Tuesday, with about 300 votes separating the top two candidates and an estimated 99 percent of votes counted.
asserted
votes → separate → votes
Recounts are not automatic in Minnesota, but a candidate can request a publicly funded recount if the margin between the winning and losing candidates is less than 0.25 percent of the vote.
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margin → request → vote
In Tennessee’s 4th District, about 300 votes lay between Democrat Victoria Broderick and Republican incumbent Scott DesJarlais as of Tuesday.
asserted
votes → lie → Tuesday
In that state, recounts are held only as part of a legal challenge in the courts.
asserted
recounts → hold → courts
There are no automatic recounts, and losing candidates may not request recounts.
uncertain
candidates → be → recounts
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
