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Fact check: Have midterm elections ever been postponed or cancelled in US history?
Executive Summary
The United States has no clear historical precedent for canceling a nationwide midterm election, and federal law and precedent show postponements of federal elections have been extremely limited and generally addressed on a district-by-district or state-by-state basis rather than by canceling entire midterm cycles. Federal authority to change election dates rests with Congress, while states have some statutory authority to reschedule elections within their jurisdictions under exigent circumstances; courts have accepted isolated rescheduling in a few narrow cases but the record does not show a cancelled nationwide midterm [1] [2] [3].
1. Why people ask whether a midterm has ever been canceled — and what the law says about who can change dates
Public concern about postponing elections often centers on who can legally alter the date of a congressional or presidential contest, and the analyses consistently show that there is no express constitutional power vested in a single federal official to unilaterally postpone federal elections. Congress holds the statutory authority to set times, places, and manner of federal elections and therefore can legislate changes to dates, while many states have their own laws that allow short-term rescheduling of elections for emergencies; this division of authority means changes are possible but require either federal legislative action or state-level procedures within legal limits [1] [3].
2. Historical practice: isolated rescheduling, not national cancellation
Historical court rulings and practice reveal instances where particular elections were rescheduled because of exigent circumstances rather than outright cancellation of a nationwide midterm. Courts have interpreted federal law to permit states to reschedule congressional elections when necessary; for example, litigation around district scheduling and preclearance disputes led courts to permit delayed elections in specific districts. These precedents illustrate a pattern of dealing with discrete problems locally or regionally, not nullifying an entire midterm cycle [1].
3. The 1918 influenza and other emergencies show adaptation, not cancellation
Studies of past emergencies, including the 1918 influenza pandemic, indicate the U.S. system has adapted to crises by modifying how elections are administered — for example, shifting polling logistics or relying on state-level changes — rather than canceling elections outright. Sources discussing midterms during the 1918 pandemic and more recent emergency-driven primary postponements emphasize that administrators sought continuity of the electoral calendar while making accommodations, underscoring that canceling a midterm nationwide has not occurred in the modern record referenced by these analyses [4] [2] [5].
4. Recent debates during the COVID era clarified limits and responsibilities
The 2020 debates about delaying federal elections sharpened public understanding that the President cannot unilaterally postpone elections and that changing a national election date would require Congressional approval or rely on state statutory powers for localized adjustments. News analyses from that period reiterate the lack of precedent for delaying a presidential or nationwide midterm election and point to legal mechanisms — Congress’s scheduling authority and state emergency statutes — as the only viable routes to legally shift dates under extraordinary conditions [6] [3].
5. What the available sources do and do not document: gaps you should note
The collected analyses confirm a lack of documented historical precedent for an outright cancellation of a midterm election at the federal level, while also documenting examples of canceled or annulled elections in other contexts and canceled uncontested races under state rules; these sources focus on localized or administrative cancellations rather than nationwide midterm cancellations. The record compiled here does not assert that no minor local or municipal election was ever canceled, but it does not provide evidence that a U.S. federal midterm cycle has been cancelled in whole, and it highlights that federal law and judicial practice favor rescheduling or local adjustments rather than annulment [7] [8] [1].
6. Bottom line for policymakers and the public: legal pathways and political reality
For officials or voters considering the possibility of postponement, the analyses make clear the lawful pathway to delay a federal election requires action by Congress or lawful state procedures, and historical practice shows authorities have tended to keep elections on some timetable rather than cancel them outright. Any future attempt to cancel or postpone a nationwide midterm would confront the statutory allocation of scheduling power, established judicial precedents allowing localized rescheduling, and strong practical and political barriers absent explicit Congressional action [1] [3].