Election Day 2026: What to know as polls open : NPR

In an aerial view, voters wait in line on the last day of early in-person voting at the Franklin County Board of Elections on Nov. 1 in Columbus, Ohio.

Jon Cherry/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption
i

Jon Cherry/Getty Images

It’s finally here. Election Day. Today, voting officially ends.

No more talk of polls. Now, it’s about results.

More than 59 million people have already cast ballots. That’s nearly half of the total ballots cast in the last midterm election. Democrats hold a double-digit advantage going into today, based on available data from early voting.

But a major key today will be how many Republicans show up to the polls. There are so many red states and districts in play, and the GOP votes overwhelmingly in person on Election Day.

Democrats are favored to win the House. They only have to flip three seats for control, and the landscape has shifted considerably, even in the past month, in favor of Democrats.

Republicans tried to insulate themselves with rare, mid-decade redistricting. But it likely won’t be enough to help the party keep the chamber.

In the Senate, the outcome is anyone’s guess. Democrats need to flip four seats to gain control of the Senate, something that was unthinkable at the beginning of this cycle. But strong Democratic recruits and a difficult national political environment for Republicans have made it a possibility.

Democrats are favored to flip one seat — North Carolina. But beyond that, the races are either toss-ups or Republicans are slight favorites. And the elections are taking place on GOP turf. Apart from Maine, the five toss-ups held by Republicans are in states Trump won by double digits in 2024.

That’s why Trump has been in so many red states ahead of Election Day to try and turn out his base. Republicans’ top target is Michigan. If they win that, Democrats’ calculus changes.

High Republican turnout could limit Democrats to one pick up. Low turnout among Republican voters could see a wipeout of up to six or seven seats — and result in Democratic control of the Senate.

There are a lot of variables for how things will go today. Results will start to come in at 6 p.m. ET in Kentucky and Indiana, and then it will be off to the races. And while everyone wants to know the results on election night, in many places the results will not be known. So patience is key as states count votes in what are expected to be many close races.