Why the US midterms matter even if you don't live in America
More than 230 million eligible voters across the United States can head to the polls on Tuesday to decide who will represent them in Congress.
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who → matter → Congress
All 435 House of Representatives seats and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats are being contested.
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seats → contest → seats
Voters in 36 states will also elect governors.
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Voters → elect → governors
Republicans currently hold both chambers.
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Republicans → hold → chambers
Islamophobia ramps up in US midterms, Texas Muslims eye local stakes
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Muslims → ramp → stakes
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Here is what is expected on the day:
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expected → dismiss → day
What time do polls open?
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polls → open → time
Voting hours are determined and set by each state.
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hours → determine → state
The first polls are set to open in Vermont at 5am (10:00 GMT).
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polls → set → 5
Voting in New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut and Kentucky will start at 6am (11:00 GMT).
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Voting → start → 6
Voting in Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania and New York will start between 6am (11:00 GMT) and 7am (12:00 GMT), while Ohio and North Carolina will see voting start at 6:30am (11:30 GMT).
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voting → start → 6:30am
In Michigan, polls will open at 7am (12:00 GMT).
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polls → open → 7
What time will polls close?
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polls → close → time
Polls close in waves across the country, with the earliest closures at 6pm (23:00 GMT) in Indiana and Kentucky.
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Polls → close → Indiana
Voting in Michigan closes at 8pm and in Kansas at 7pm local time (both 01:00 GMT on Wednesday), while polls in Iowa close at 8pm (02:00 GMT on Wednesday).
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polls → close → Wednesday
Alaska is the last to close, at around 1am Eastern Time (06:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
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Alaska → close → Wednesday
When will we know the results?
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we → know → results
The first results could start arriving on Tuesday as polls begin to close.
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polls → arrive → Tuesday
Results will continue to come in throughout Tuesday evening, and some on Wednesday as more states finish voting and officials start releasing their vote counts.
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officials → continue → counts
However, the first reported results will not necessarily mean that a winner has been announced.
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winner → report → ?
Election officials release vote counts as ballots are processed, while news organisations such as the Associated Press analyse the results and determine when a race can be called.
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race → release → results
Closely contested races could take hours, or even days, to call.
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races → contest → hours
It might not be immediately clear which party will control Congress.
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party → control → Congress
How does the American voting system work in the midterms?
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system → work → midterms
Voters can cast their ballots by mail, early or in person on election day, which is Tuesday.
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which → cast → day
Many mail, provisional and other ballots are counted after election night, which is why tallies can take a few days, or even weeks, to finalise.
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tallies → count → days
Which races should we watch?
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we → watch → races
Senate Democrats need a net gain of four seats to reach a majority.
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Democrats → need → majority
House Democrats need three seats for a majority.
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Democrats → need → majority
Here are a few key races to watch as the two parties go head-to-head:
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parties → watch → head
- In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers are locked in a closely watched race after Democratic Representative Haley Stevens decided to endorse Rogers on Sunday.
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Stevens → lock → Sunday
- In Florida, Democrat Angie Nixon is challenging Republican Senator Ashley Moody.
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Nixon → challenge → Moody
- In Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff will face Republican Mike Collins.
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Ossoff → face → Collins
The Aporia
