US Voters Decide Control of Congress in Midterm Elections

Voters across the United States went to the polls on Tuesday (Nov 3) in the US midterm elections, with every seat in the House of Representatives, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships on the ballot, CBS News reported. Polls in Vermont were the first to open, at 5am Eastern Time (6pm Tuesday, Malaysia time).

More than 57 million people had already voted early by Monday afternoon (Nov 2), according to figures from the University of Florida’s Election Lab cited by ABC News. ABC said that total was on course to pass the more than 58 million early votes recorded in the 2022 midterms.

What is at stake in the US midterm elections

Republicans go into the vote holding 218 House seats, plus an independent who normally sides with them, while Democrats hold 214, with two seats vacant, according to CBS News. In the Senate, Republicans have 53 seats to the Democrats’ 47.

The CBS News Battleground Tracker, in an estimate dated Oct 25, projected Democrats would win 229 House seats, within a range of 215 to 237. CBS identified 47 battleground House districts and 11 key Senate contests: Republican-held seats in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, and Democratic-held seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.

In Iowa’s open Senate race, Republican Representative Ashley Hinson told ABC News her Democratic rival Josh Turek was too liberal for the state. ABC reported that Turek has said he opposes men in women’s sports and would work with the president on the border.

When polls close Voters decide

The first polls close at 6pm Eastern Time in the eastern parts of Indiana and Kentucky, which is 7am on Wednesday (Nov 4) in Malaysia. Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, most of Florida and the rest of Indiana and Kentucky follow at 7pm, with North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia at 7.30pm.

Hawaii closes at midnight Eastern Time and the last polls in Alaska at 1am Eastern Time on Wednesday, according to CBS News.

Justice Department monitors draw state pushback

The Justice Department planned to send about 1,000 election monitors, which it called its largest monitoring effort ever, Votebeat reported. The plan was announced by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, and a department spokesperson said the full list of counties would be released on Election Day.

Colorado, Indiana and Wyoming said they would not allow the monitors within a set distance of polling places, according to Votebeat. Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Commonwealth, Al Schmidt, said the federal monitors have no greater access than members of the public. In a letter to Pennsylvania, Justice Department attorney James Catania wrote that “our monitors only observe and take notes”.

Votebeat reported that monitors may enter polling places only with permission from local officials.

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US Voters Decide Control of Congress in Midterm Elections