What People Are Misunderstanding This Week: Will the Midterm Elections Be Cancelled?
Disclaimer: I’m about to write about the upcoming midterm elections, but if it helps, I won’t be biased in my opinions. This should be a fairly straightforward topic, but recently, social media has been abuzz with speculation that the upcoming midterm elections will somehow be canceled. And while election fearmongering is hardly a new phenomenon, it’s usually a rather dull one. This year, whether you blame exponential cultural polarization, social media echo chambers, or the rain, the fear of election cancellation has grown into an unmistakable roar.
This is certainly alarming. But are those who worry about it wrong, or will the 2024 elections truly be the last “free and fair” elections in America? To get answers, I spoke with attorney Chad Peace, an expert in U.S. election law and legal counsel for the Independent Voter Project , a non-partisan nonprofit dedicated to encouraging voter participation. I began by asking Peace point-blank how likely he thought the midterm elections would be completely canceled. “I think it’s close to 0%,” he said.
Who conducts midterm elections? (It is not the federal government.)
The unlikelihood of abolishing midterm elections stems from their structure. According to the US Constitution, states conduct their own midterm elections and are legally obligated to do so every two years. While the Constitution and federal laws provide the general framework for conducting midterm elections, their actual administration is left to state and local governments. It’s a highly decentralized process, and this is intentional. “The Constitution is very clear that states control the time, place, and manner of elections, and the reason for this clarity is to prevent the very problems we’re seeing now,” says Peace.
Refutation of hypothetical scenarios for canceling elections
Chad and I discussed several hypothetical scenarios (if not outright conspiracy theories) about how the election might be overturned. To make this part of our conversation more understandable, I’ll present it in a question-and-answer format, with my questions in bold and Chad’s answers in plain text. Remember, these are just the facts.
Does the president have any power to cancel midterm elections?
There may be executive power to change [electoral] rules, but there is no real power to overturn them.
What about an executive order? Can it cancel the election?
I’d be hard-pressed to find a decree that would cancel the election or that would actually have legal effect on the states. After all, states have the exclusive authority to conduct elections.
What happens if the government declares martial law?
Even under martial law, states will hold elections. Will that be an interesting situation? Yes. I don’t think it will come to that, but even during the Civil War, we had elections.
Does the introduction of martial law suspend the Constitution?
No.
Does the president certify the winners of midterm elections?
No.
Does Congress have the ability to cancel midterm elections?
It’s impossible to abolish them. Congress can do a lot, but ultimately, the Constitution is perfectly clear—and there’s a reason it’s so clear—that the states control the time, place, and manner of elections.
Can a state cancel its own midterm elections?
It would also be quite difficult for a state to cancel its own midterm elections. Could they, with emergency powers, say, “We really need to postpone”? Yes. There would be a struggle, but ultimately, the elections would still have to be held. Historically, constitutionally, and within the laws of most states, the elections would take place. Regardless of your political views, I’m pretty sure the American electorate isn’t ready for the elections to be canceled. That’s a pretty fundamental question for anyone of any ideology.
Okay, they’re not going to cancel the midterm elections, but…
The simple answer to the narrow question of whether the 2026 midterm elections will be canceled is no. But that doesn’t mean the 2026 election cycle will necessarily be “normal.” It’s impossible to predict how the midterm elections might be affected by various actions by Congress, states, or the federal government, and this uncertainty is the real reason for the cancellation rumors. “The real issue is, how legitimate are our elections?” says Peace. “I don’t think we’ve reached the point where we’ve lost all legitimacy and people are saying, ‘These people aren’t really our leaders.'”
Regardless of your political views, these are challenging times. But these aren’t the first challenging times the country has ever experienced. “Every time is unique, but I don’t think [our current political climate] is completely unprecedented,” says Peace. He points to the protests during the Vietnam War as another, relatively recent example of significant political shifts in the US. “This is something that keeps repeating itself throughout our history. This happens when you see significant political shifts and realignments.”
No one knew how the Civil War or the Great Depression would end while they were happening, but the elections took place anyway, and we’re still here. “America and our voters have an amazing ability to bounce back from adversity. We overcome it and move on,” says Peace.
What to do if you’re stressed about the midterm elections?
If you’re panicking about the legitimacy of the upcoming election, scrolling endlessly through social media probably won’t help, but volunteering might be helpful. “Get involved. Contact your local registrar and say, ‘I want to be an election observer,'” says Peace, especially if you’re nonpartisan. “I think a nonpartisan, independent person who’s involved in the process, knowledgeable, and observing the facts on the ground has an incredible impact on convincing voters of the legitimacy and fairness of the election.”
Fun fact, completely unrelated, about elections expert Chad Peace.
Besides his epic name and expertise in US election law, Chad Peace is an executive producer on the upcoming filmAttack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence . This significantly enhances his credibility in my eyes.