Election Day: Poll Closing Times; Voter ID and Noncitizen-Voting Bans on the Ballot in 11 States

It’s Election Day, and control of the House and Senate for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term is on the line.

The first polls opened at 6 a.m. ET in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, the Associated Press reported. Voting so far has gone forward with relatively few problems.

Heavy rain and flash flooding over the weekend could make it harder for some voters to reach polling places in parts of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Election officials are urging anyone still holding a mail ballot to use a drop box or hand it in at a polling place rather than mail it, because of concerns about postmark delays.

Record Early Vote

More than 54 million people voted early, nearly 9 million more than in the 2022 midterms, Fox News reported, citing AP figures.

Early voting has traditionally favored Democrats, and Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters is counting on today. “If our voters turn out, we win,” he said.

Trump is predicting the GOP keeps both chambers. “We’re going to win and let’s make the next two years bigger and better and stronger than ever before,” he told a rally in Kansas on Sunday night.

What’s at Stake

Republicans hold the Senate 53-47, so Democrats need a net gain of four seats. Vice President JD Vance breaks ties, so the GOP can keep control with 50 seats.

The Fox News Power Rankings moved Kansas to Toss-up on Sunday. Republicans are also playing defense in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, all rated toss-ups. Democrats are defending Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

In the House, Democrats need a net gain of three seats to reach 218. The Power Rankings and most nonpartisan handicappers favor Democrats to flip the chamber.

Thirty-six governorships are up, along with legislatures in all but four states.

Voter ID and Citizenship on the Ballot

Voters will decide 145 statewide ballot measures. Measures requiring ID at the polls, or banning noncitizen voting, are on the ballot in 11 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia.

Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska and Washington have measures on transgender students in sports. Colorado will also vote on blocking gender-transition surgeries for minors and on barring public money for them.

Alaska voters will decide whether to repeal ranked-choice voting and open primaries. California’s Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1 billion. In Washington state, voters will decide whether to repeal a new 9.9% tax on income above $1 million.

When Polls Close (Eastern Time)

6 p.m.: Parts of Kentucky and Indiana.

7 p.m.: Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia, the rest of Kentucky and Indiana, and most of Florida and New Hampshire.

7:30 p.m.: North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

8 p.m.: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and D.C., the rest of Florida and New Hampshire, and most of Texas, Michigan, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.

9 p.m.: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and Wyoming, plus the rest of Texas, Michigan, Kansas and the Dakotas.

10 p.m.: Montana and Utah, and most of Idaho and Oregon.

11 p.m.: California and Washington, and the rest of Idaho and Oregon.

Midnight: Hawaii and most of Alaska. The last Alaska polls close at 1 a.m.

One early bellwether: Kentucky’s 6th District around Lexington, which Trump won by 15 points but which looks close this year, according to Fox’s Power Rankings.

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