Spring 2026 Reporting Unit Updates
AP Elections is preparing a series of updates to the historical election results archive and implementing a revised county naming convention for future elections, to align AP reporting unit names and FIPS codes with the U.S. Census Bureau standards. These changes will take effect beginning with elections held on May 2, 2026, and other corrections will be applied retroactively where appropriate on April 9, 2026.
County Name Alignment with Census Bureau Standards
Starting May 2, 2026, level 2 reporting units (county and county-equivalents) will adopt Census Bureau federal standard names. Most changes involve appending "County" (or "Parish" in Louisiana) to the existing name; for example:
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Norfolk → Norfolk County
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Clay → Clay County
Independent cities that serve as county equivalents (for example, "Norfolk city" in Virginia) will retain lowercase "city."
Additionally, three New York City boroughs will be updated to their corresponding county names:
For a full list of county name changes, download the CSV file.
Historical Data Corrections
County FIPS and Name Changes
-
South Dakota. RU 42056 Shannon County (FIPS 46113) became Oglala Lakota County (FIPS 46102) in 2015. Updates will be applied to the relevant 2014 and 2016 races.
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Connecticut. A set of FIPS codes that had used the new planning region FIPS codes prior to Aug. 13, 2024 has been updated to reflect the correct, legacy county FIPS codes where applicable.
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Maine. RU 20907 Madawaska Lake County FIPS code will be updated to 23003 (Aroostook County).
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District of Columbia. The correct FIPS code 11001 for the District of Columbia will be uniformly applied.
Reporting Unit Name Formatting Revisions
Several states will receive minor formatting fixes (spacing, capitalization, abbreviations) without changes to FIPS codes:
|
State Postal
|
FIPS Code
|
Reporting Unit ID
|
Old Reporting Unit Name
|
New Reporting Unit Name
|
|
IL
|
17039
|
14020
|
DeWitt
|
De Witt
|
|
IL
|
17085
|
14043
|
JoDaviess
|
Jo Daviess
|
|
KY
|
21123
|
18062
|
LaRue
|
Larue
|
|
LA
|
22031
|
19016
|
DeSoto
|
De Soto
|
|
LA
|
22053
|
19027
|
Jeff Davis
|
Jefferson Davis
|
|
MN
|
27073
|
24037
|
Lac Qui Parle
|
Lac qui Parle
|
|
MS
|
28065
|
25033
|
Jeff Davis
|
Jefferson Davis
|
|
MO
|
29105
|
26053
|
LaClede
|
Laclede
|
|
NM
|
35011
|
32007
|
DeBaca
|
De Baca
|
|
NM
|
35013
|
32008
|
Dona Ana
|
Doña Ana
|
|
OK
|
40079
|
37040
|
LeFlore
|
Le Flore
|
|
TX
|
48123
|
44062
|
De Witt
|
DeWitt
|
|
TX
|
48285
|
44143
|
La Vaca
|
Lavaca
|
District of Columbia Reporting Unit Structure Updates
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RU ID 9001 (D.C.'s county-equivalent level 2 reporting unit) will be added to election dates where it was previously missing.
-
The county FIPS code for RU ID 9001 (D.C.'s level 2 reporting unit) will be updated to 11001 for March 3, 2024 races and will remain 11001 for all future elections.
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D.C. wards (local government subdivisions) will be consistently treated as level 3 reporting units across all past and future election dates.
-
Ward reporting unit IDs for June 14, 2016 will be standardized to 9004-9011.
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An incorrect county FIPS code will be removed from the level 1 state-equivalent reporting unit for June 6, 2024.
New England County Subdivision (Town) FIPS Code Corrections
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County subdivision (town) FIPS codes will be added where they were previously missing in past election dates for New England reporting units.
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Some county-level reporting units currently have a county subdivision (town) FIPS code of "00000," which will be removed in all cases.
-
County subdivision (town) FIPS codes were updated for a small group of New England level 2 reporting units where the Census Bureau has changed the FIPS code over time or where codes were missing in AP data.
|
Reporting Unit ID
|
State Postal
|
Reporting Unit Name
|
Previous County Subdivision (Town) FIPS Code in API
|
Updated County Subdivision (Town) FIPS Code in API
|
Years Changed
|
Type of Change
|
|
22007
|
MA
|
Amesbury
|
01260
|
01185
|
2024+
|
Change FIPS starting in 2024
|
|
22008
|
MA
|
Amherst
|
01370
|
01325
|
2012-2019
|
Change FIPS through 2019
|
|
22042
|
MA
|
Bridgewater
|
08130
|
08085
|
2012-2018
|
Change FIPS through 2018
|
|
22086
|
MA
|
Easthampton
|
19370
|
19365
|
2024+
|
Change FIPS starting in 2024
|
|
22100
|
MA
|
Framingham
|
24960
|
24925
|
2012-2017
|
Change FIPS through 2017
|
|
22114
|
MA
|
Greenfield
|
27060
|
27100
|
2012-2019
|
Change FIPS through 2019
|
|
22181
|
MA
|
Methuen
|
40710
|
40675
|
2024+
|
Change FIPS starting in 2024
|
|
22212
|
MA
|
North Attleborough
|
46598
|
46575
|
2012-2019
|
Change FIPS through 2019
|
|
22244
|
MA
|
Randolph
|
56000
|
55955
|
2012-2018
|
Change FIPS through 2018
|
|
22314
|
MA
|
Watertown
|
73440
|
73405
|
2024+
|
Change FIPS starting in 2024
|
|
20930
|
ME
|
Argyle Township
|
-
|
01500
|
2012+
|
Add missing FIPS
|
|
20020
|
ME
|
Atkinson Township
|
01920
|
-
|
2020+
|
Remove FIPS starting in 2020 because town dissolved
|
|
20039
|
ME
|
Bancroft
|
-
|
02760
|
2012-2019
|
Add missing FIPS through 2019 (FIPS code changed in 2020)
|
|
20039
|
ME
|
Bancroft
|
-
|
02762
|
2020+
|
Add missing FIPS starting in 2020
|
|
20134
|
ME
|
Cary Township
|
11020
|
-
|
2020+
|
Remove FIPS starting in 2020 because town dissolved
|
|
20905
|
ME
|
Connor Township
|
-
|
13900
|
2012+
|
Add missing FIPS
|
|
20185
|
ME
|
Drew Plantation
|
18580
|
18582
|
2024+
|
Change FIPS starting in 2024
|
|
20908
|
ME
|
Fletchers Landing Twp
|
-
|
11800
|
2012+
|
Add missing FIPS
|
|
20912
|
ME
|
Kingman Township
|
-
|
37075
|
2012+
|
Add missing FIPS
|
|
20285
|
ME
|
Penobscot Nation Voting District
|
57936
|
57937
|
2012-2013
|
Change FIPS through 2013
|
|
20362
|
ME
|
Magalloway Township
|
42835
|
-
|
2023+
|
Remove FIPS starting in 2023 because town dissolved
|
|
20910
|
ME
|
Milton Township
|
-
|
46105
|
2012+
|
Add missing FIPS
|
|
20441
|
ME
|
Oxbow North Township
|
-
|
56205
|
2012-2018
|
Add missing FIPS through 2018 because town dissolved
|
|
20914
|
ME
|
Prentiss Township
|
-
|
60790
|
2012+
|
Add missing FIPS
|
|
20696
|
ME
|
Sanford
|
65725
|
65760
|
2012-2013
|
Change FIPS through 2013
|
|
20944
|
ME
|
Wyman Township
|
-
|
87680
|
2012+
|
Add missing FIPS
|
|
46065
|
VT
|
Enosburgh
|
24050
|
23875
|
2012
|
Change FIPS through 2012
|