Democrats Win Across States Without Voter ID Rules
Democrats won Senate seats or House majorities in all 14 states with no polling-place voter ID requirement, according to a fact-based assessment of 2026 midterm results.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Elections
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Democrats won a Senate seat or a majority of House seats in all 14 states without polling-place voter ID requirements, according to an assessment of Associated Press midterm projections. Democrats also won Senate seats or House majorities in 16 states that require voter ID at the polls.
Why it matters
The analysis counters a claim that Democratic wins are tied to states without voter ID rules, and fact-checkers found no evidence linking those wins to noncitizen voting or election fraud. Results are based on AP projections, which are not official until certified by state election officials.
Democrats won in all 14 no-ID states and in 16 ID-requiring states, including three where they won both chambers. Republicans won six of 17 House seats in Pennsylvania and six of 26 in New York, while certification by state officials is still pending.
The players
Josh Turek
Turek is a Democrat who flipped Iowa's Senate seat held by Republican Joni Ernst in the 2026 midterm elections.
Joni Ernst
Ernst is the Republican senator from Iowa whose seat was flipped by Democrat Josh Turek in 2026.
James Morrow
Morrow made a claim linking Democratic electoral success to states without voter ID requirements shortly before the election.
The details
The National Conference of State Legislatures lists 14 states and Washington, D.C. with no polling-place voter ID requirement, including California, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania. Democrat Josh Turek flipped Republican Senator Joni Ernst's Iowa seat, and Republicans won no Senate seats in states without polling-place ID requirements.
Timeline
November 3, 2026: 2026 midterm elections held across states with and without voter ID requirements.
Days before the election: James Morrow made a claim linking Democrats to no-ID cities.
Political Context
The analysis measures partisan results against the National Conference of State Legislatures' tracking of polling-place voter ID rules across states. Critics of voter ID laws have long argued about their effects, and this assessment finds no evidence tying Democratic wins to the absence of ID requirements.
Voters in states without polling-place ID requirements face no ID check at the polls, while voters in the 36 states that request or require ID should bring the required documents. Results cited here are AP projections and may change once state officials certify the official tallies.
The takeaway
Election outcomes in the 2026 midterms did not split cleanly along voter ID lines, and claims tying partisan results to ID rules warrant checking against official data. Readers should watch for state certification of the final results.
Further reading
For more on how states run and certify votes, see Elections coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Skeptic Society Magazine.
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