Preliminary midterm results in Texas are expected to begin appearing shortly after polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. The first results will be based on ballots cast during early voting, which typically make up a large share of total votes. Election officials across the state are expected to post unofficial results throughout the evening and into early Wednesday.
Official results take longer to release. Election officials must consolidate ballots and follow a lengthy set of procedures to make sure votes are counted accurately. After polls close, ballots from hundreds of voting locations in the state's largest counties move to county election offices. Some large counties use substations for drop-offs, while most gather all ballots in one location.
To speed up reporting, counties with more than 100,000 residents can begin counting mail-in ballots received after polls close on the last day of early voting. Smaller counties may start counting the morning of Election Day. Once counting begins, it cannot stop until it is finished. State law requires Election Day totals to be submitted to the state within 24 hours after polls close. Election workers manually enter totals for each race into the statewide election management system.