From Russia’s parliamentary election and Germany’s regional votes to the U.S. midterms, several major elections are taking place in September and November of 2026. Meanwhile, Sweden has already voted, with parties now negotiating to form a new government.
Russia is holding a three-day parliamentary election from 18 to 20 September, with voters choosing all 450 members of the State Duma.
Half of the seats are being contested through party lists and the other half through single-member constituencies. 11 parties are contesting the nationwide party-list ballot.
On 10 August, Russia’s liberal opposition party Yabloko had its federal party list removed from the 2026 State Duma ballot after the Supreme Court cancelled its registration.
The court ruled against Yabloko following a lawsuit by the Rodina party. The lawsuit alleged violations of election and campaign-finance rules, including the receipt of funds from people who had themselves received financing from abroad.
The ruling was upheld on appeal, and the Central Election Commission subsequently removed Yabloko's federal party list. However, Yabloko candidates are still permitted to run as individuals in single-member constituency races.
Around 111 million people are eligible to vote, with electronic voting also available in parts of the country. Even President Vladimir Putin cast his ballot electronically on Friday.
The vote is also being held for regional legislatures and governors, with 11 regions electing governors and 39 choosing regional legislative assemblies. Voting is taking place for the first parliamentary election since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The election has drawn criticism over voting in territories of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed. Ukraine and other governments have rejected the legitimacy of Russian elections held in those territories.
Germany heads to the polls on 20 September for regional elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Berlin will elect its House of Representatives, while Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will elect its state parliament.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the campaign has centred on a close contest between the governing Social Democrats (SPD) and the Alternative for Germany (AfD). An NDR poll published earlier in September put the SPD at 32 per cent, three points behind the AfD, while the CDU faced the possibility of a historically weak result.
In Berlin, the CDU is also facing a closely contested race. Governing Mayor Kai Wegner stepped down as the CDU’s lead candidate following political pressure, with State Finance Minister Stefan Evers taking over as the CDU's top candidate while Wegner continues as Governing Mayor through the end of his term.
The elections come as Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces pressure within the CDU following the party's poor result in the recent Saxony-Anhalt election. The outcome of the two state-level votes could therefore have implications for the balance of power within Germany's governing conservative party.
The United States will hold its federal midterm elections on 3 November 2026. The elections will determine all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and the seats in the Senate that are up for election in the 2026 cycle.
Midterm elections take place halfway through a presidential term and also include state-level contests, including gubernatorial and legislative elections in many states.
Among the issues expected to feature prominently in the campaign are the cost of living, immigration, voting and election administration, artificial intelligence, foreign policy and redistricting.
Early voting and absentee voting arrangements vary between states, meaning the timetable for casting ballots differs across the country. The 3 November date is the next regularly scheduled federal general election date confirmed by the U.S. Federal Election Commission.
Sweden has already held its parliamentary election, with the final count giving the centre-left opposition 176 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag, compared with 173 for the outgoing right-wing bloc.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson resigned following the result, while Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson began efforts to form a government.
The narrow result does not automatically settle the composition of the next government. The Centre Party has ruled out joining a government that includes the Left Party, creating an obstacle for Andersson as coalition negotiations continue.
The Sweden Democrats also recorded their first decline in vote share since 2010, falling by around three percentage points compared with the previous election.
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