Overview
- Primary elections in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia and Washington are scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4, and officials expect initial returns on election night with extended counting to follow.
- A Douglas County judge in Kansas issued a temporary statewide injunction that allows mail ballots postmarked by Aug. 4 to be accepted through Friday, Aug. 7, changing the usual return deadline and likely lengthening Kansas’s tallying period.
- Virginia’s primary was moved to Aug. 4 after redistricting litigation delayed maps, a shift that analysts say could reduce turnout because the date falls during summer travel and school preparations.
- Washington’s top-two, mail-focused system requires ballots to be postmarked by Election Day and lets counties keep counting for days, so several races there may not be final until late August when certifications occur.
- High-profile contests — including Michigan’s open U.S. Senate and gubernatorial primaries — plus local monitoring like DOJ teams in Detroit mean these primaries could influence party strategy and the balance of power heading into the November midterms.