US Voters Decide Congress and More Than 140 State Ballot Measures in Midterm Elections

Millions of voters are casting ballots across the United States on Tuesday, the culmination of a divisive midterm campaign that will determine control of Congress and offer a nationwide verdict on President Donald Trump's second term.

Voters will elect federal and state politicians, but they will also exercise the power of direct democracy, setting policy through initiatives that will shape abortion and transgender rights, taxation, and even the conduct of voting and direct democracy itself.

Voters will weigh in on more than 140 statewide ballot measures, nearly 40 of them related to elections. That is a record, said Helen Brewer, who tracks statewide ballot measures for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A handful of the proposals seek to regulate ballot measures themselves, by raising the threshold of votes needed for their passage or expanding safeguards to keep lawmakers from altering voter-approved policy. Some of the initiatives were proposed by lawmakers, while others were written by voters.

Brewer said the outcomes will serve as a reality check, offering at least some insight into what the voters who turn out in that election think. The proposals range from a billionaires tax to abortion rights.

Polls show that Democrats are widely favored to win control of the House, although it is not clear how deep into Republican terrain their victories might extend. Surveys also indicate that Democrats are on track to increase their numbers in the Senate, and party leaders are hopeful about winning a majority.

But that is a tall order. Democrats would have to flip four Republican-held seats and defend all of their own to take control of the chamber.

Early voting has surpassed recent midterm totals, with tens of millions of ballots already cast. In each of the major Senate battlegrounds, including Texas, North Carolina and Michigan, early turnout exceeded that of the last midterm cycle, and in several key states the share of registered Democrats increased in the early vote.

Money has also cascaded into the campaign. This is the most expensive midterm election, as measured in spending on political advertising, since at least 2018, according to data from AdImpact. Elon Musk, the world's richest person, alone contributed $474 million to Republican groups, candidates and their allies, more than any donor has ever spent in a single election cycle.

The first polls close at 6pm Eastern, but it could take days or weeks before the full results are known, particularly if many of the races are close. In 2024, it took three weeks to determine the winners in California's closest House races.

Control of the Senate will hinge on the outcomes in the battleground states of Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

Many election officials and Democrats have said they fear that Trump's attacks on the integrity of US elections could lead to tensions during voting and baseless challenges to the outcome. Local and state officials say they are well prepared to run a secure election.