By-election

Ohio voters on Nov. 3 will pick a successor to term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine, with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy facing Democrat Amy Acton and Libertarian Don Kissick. The same ballot includes a special U.S. Senate election to fill the remainder of JD Vance's term, pitting incumbent appointee Jon Husted against challengers; the winner serves until 2028. All 15 Ohio U.S. House seats are also up, under a new Republican-favorable congressional map targeting Democratic-held districts. In Kentucky, Republican Andy Barr and Democrat Charles Booker are competing for the seat long held by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell. Indiana will re-elect its House delegation, and ballot measures appear in all three states.

Virginia voters head to the polls Nov. 3 to decide three constitutional amendments — on reproductive rights, marriage equality, and automatic restoration of voting rights for felons after sentence completion — alongside federal races. Sen. Mark Warner seeks a fourth term against Bert Mizusawa, while competitive U.S. House contests play out in the 1st (Wittman vs. Taylor), 4th (McClellan vs. Murray and Bell), and 5th (McGuire vs. Perriello and Harvey) districts. Richmond and Chesterfield voters will also weigh a 1% sales tax increase to fund school construction, alongside 45 other Virginia localities, plus local School Board and Board of Supervisors races. Early voting runs through Oct. 31.

D.C.'s 2026 general election falls on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with early voting running Oct. 26 through Nov. 1 and same-day registration available at any voting center. Mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 13; results are set to be certified Dec. 2. With Mayor Muriel Bowser not seeking re-election, Democratic nominee Janeese Lewis George is heavily favored over independent and third-party challengers. Eleanor Holmes Norton is also stepping aside from the city's non-voting House seat, with Democrat Robert White favored to succeed her. Voters will also decide council races, the attorney general contest, and Initiative 86, a proposed ban on foie gras production and sales.

The San Diego Unified School District board has adopted a new timeline for filling a potential mid-term vacancy, prompted by board President Richard Barrera's bid for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction against Chino Valley Unified School Board President Sonja Shaw in the Nov. 3 election. The district noted it hasn't had to appoint a replacement trustee in a decade.

Under the updated bylaws, if Barrera wins, the board would declare the SubDistrict D seat vacant, hold a town hall at Hoover High School, open a public application process, and interview candidates before swearing in a new member by Jan. 12. Officials said the process is designed to gather community input rather than hold a costly special election, which the district estimated would run about $250,000. Board leaders emphasized that representation and community voice should guide the selection of Barrera's potential successor.

Several California congressional primaries pit establishment Democrats against insurgent challengers, a dynamic that could complicate Hakeem Jeffries' hold on House Democratic leadership if he seeks the speakership in a future majority. Under California's top-two primary system, some races feature Democrat-vs-Democrat matchups between incumbents and younger, further-left or anti-establishment rivals.

Rep. Mike Thompson faces venture capitalist Eric Jones, who says he wouldn't commit to backing Jeffries as speaker. Rep. Doris Matsui, who trailed in the June primary, faces progressive Sacramento Councilmember Mai Vang, who has said she won't support Jeffries. In the race to succeed Nancy Pelosi, state Sen. Scott Wiener backs Jeffries while rival Connie Chan says any speaker candidate must "earn" her vote. Rep. Aisha Wahab, who already defied party leadership once, faces Melissa Hernandez in a rematch. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, under a House Ethics Committee investigation he denies, faces progressive challenger Angela Gonzales-Torres. Many challengers are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, signaling a potential bloc of leadership skeptics if elected.

Small rural townships across Michigan are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain the local clerks who administer elections, maintain voter rolls and process absentee ballots. In Hillsdale County's Fayette Township, no clerk has served since January after the previous clerk resigned, citing burnout compounded by public backlash over a contested solar farm proposal. No candidates filed for a special election, and the township board found no one willing to be appointed, forcing a neighboring city clerk to manage both jurisdictions' elections and a second special election planned for May.

Officials in Michigan, one of eight states that administer elections locally rather than through counties, say rising workloads, low part-time pay often under $12,000 a year, and increased harassment of election workers are driving clerks out. A bipartisan bill passed the state House that would let townships contract with any accredited Michigan resident to run elections, but it has stalled in the Democratic-led state Senate, leaving the staffing crisis unresolved ahead of future elections.