That’s it, folks. After a grueling election season filled with twists and seemingly endless political ads, it all comes down to this.

The polls are now closed, and there’s nothing left to do but wait and let officials tally the results. That’s what tonight’s newsletter is all about.

First, we’ll bring you our election results page, where you can keep up with the latest throughout the night as things develop.

Then, The ’Gander’s Kyle Kaminski breaks down what happens next, from when we might expect results to when those unofficial results become official.

Read on for the details.

This is an election update from The ’Gander team.

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Michigan voters cast their ballots, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in White Lake, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

By Kyle Kaminski

Polls have closed across most of Michigan, and ballots are being counted to decide who will lead the state for the next four years. At the top of the ballot are an open US Senate seat that could help decide control of the Senate and an open race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Voters are also choosing a new attorney general and secretary of state, two state Supreme Court justices, every seat in the Legislature and all 13 of Michigan’s US House seats. Two statewide ballot proposals are on the ballot, too. Polls in four Upper Peninsula counties on Central Time close at 9 p.m. Eastern.

This story will be updated throughout the night as results roll in.

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At some point on election night, somebody’s lead is going to shrink. Maybe it’ll disappear entirely. And within five minutes, somebody online is going to call it fraud.

It won’t be. It’ll be Michigan counting ballots exactly the way the law says to do it. So, before the spin starts, let’s walk through what actually happens to your vote after the polls close.

Here’s the deal: In communities with more than 5,000 people, clerks can start running absentee ballots through tabulators up to eight days before Election Day.

But nobody—not your local clerk, not the secretary of state—is allowed to total a single vote until polls close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

At that point, two poll workers from opposite parties enter a code, and the tabulator prints the results on paper from each polling location. The memory cards and sealed bags of ballots get driven to your local clerk. From there, results go to the county.

And only then does the county pass them up to the state. There’s no central switchboard in Lansing. The count starts in your neighborhood and works its way up.

And here’s the kicker: Not every community finishes counting at the same speed. A small township can wrap up quickly. Big cities take longer because a lot of people drop off absentee ballots on Election Day, and each one still needs a signature check before it can be counted.

So early returns can lean one way, then shift hours later when the big cities report.

That’s exactly what happened in 2020. Trump led Michigan on election night. Biden pulled ahead the next day. Nothing was stolen. The rest of the votes just showed up on the scoreboard.

Here’s what happens next: After election night, nothing’s official yet. Those numbers on your TV? Still unofficial.

Over the next two weeks, county canvassing boards—two Democrats, two Republicans—check that the number of voters matches the number of ballots. Then, the bipartisan state board has to meet later this month to certify the final results. 

And that part is not optional. It’s a legal duty, with penalties for anyone who refuses.

Oh, and if a statewide race comes down to a margin of 0.1% or less, there’s an automatic recount—of the actual paper. Auditors also randomly pull ballots to check them against the tally. 

So what? Well, by Wednesday morning, the numbers might look different than they did Tuesday night.

That’s not a glitch or some type of conspiracy. 

It’s the count working exactly the way it’s supposed to work. So, when somebody says the numbers keep moving, they’re right. That’s what happens when you count everything.

Want to check for yourself? Track your own ballot at michigan.gov/vote. See something sketchy at the polls? Report it at mi.gov/agelections.

Was this forwarded to you? Sign up for This Week in Michigan Politics to get the latest in your inbox every week.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Karel Vega with stories by Kyle Kaminski. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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