Chris Jeavans
Data journalist

Voters across the US have named the economy their top concern as they cast their ballots in the midterm elections.

Some 39% of those asked in the poll of more than 79,000 people said it was the most important issue facing the country.

The state of democracy was in second place, with 32% of respondents putting it top, followed by immigration on 14%.

Healthcare, foreign policy and crime were each named as the top issue by a lower share of voters.

The survey, officially called the Voter Poll, is a representative sample of American voters in the run up to the election, and includes exit polling of both early and on the day voters. It’s carried out by polling company SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media organisations.

As a reminder, this is the first tranche of data - so the numbers may shift throughout the night.

We're still digging through the data, but we'll bring you more on this in the next few minutes.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, EPA

In a few minutes, we’re going to see the initial results of a national voter poll. This will be our first big clue about what has motivated voters on election day.

The poll asks tens of thousands of people their opinions and top concerns about the country - and we’ll be able to look at how that differs by age, gender, education and other demographics as the night goes on.

From 17:00 EST (22:00 GMT), we'll start bringing you some of those results here.

And then at 18:00 EST (23:00 GMT), the first polling sites will start to close to US voters. It won't be long after that that we can start bringing you some results. Stay tuned.

For more stories from the US and around the world, follow BBC News US on WhatsApp.

Image source, Getty Images

There are six Senate races deemed to be a toss-up by independent elections analyst Cook Political Report - Alaska, Kansas, Iowa, Maine, Ohio and Texas.

That list previously included Michigan, but Cook Political Report recently moved Michigan from "toss-up" to "leans Democrat".

All six remaining toss-up states are currently held by Republicans. The Democrats would need to win three of those seats, plus five classed as likely or leaning Democratic, to hit 51 and take control of the Senate.

The current Republican majority in the House, the lower chamber, is thin. They have 218 representatives, the exact number needed to have control, plus one independent who votes with them.

Some of the most closely-watched races in the House are in east-coast states, according to the Cook Political Report. These include New York's 17th District, Pennsylvania's 8th District and Virginia's 1st District.

Trump will have no reason to campaign after this final major electoral testpublished at 21:50 GMT 3 November

21:50 GMT 3 November

Sarah Smith
North America editor

Image source, Reuters

The midterms are Donald Trump’s last major electoral test before the end of his term in 2028.

He says he has accepted that he cannot run for a third term as president. So he will not face the verdict of voters again.

After this he will have no reason to go out campaigning or convene rallies across the country at which he can bathe in the adoration of his loyal supporters.

Once the midterms are over, President Trump will soon start to feel his political power draining away- even if his Republicans perform better than opinion polls suggest.

Every president looks like a lame duck when he enters the last two years of his tenure. Everyone knows he won’t be in office much longer and attention soon turns to who the next president might be.

This must be a difficult prospect for every president.

It will be uniquely painful for President Trump.

From the urban streets of New York City to rural Ohio and Californian beach towns, Americans around the country are heading out to vote in person today.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Asma Khalid
Co-host, The Global Story Podcast

Image source, Reuters

A black woman has never been elected governor of any state in US history. Democrat Keshia Lance Bottoms would make history if she wins in Georgia today.

The former Democratic mayor of Atlanta is in a tight race against the Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman and healthcare executive.

Georgia has not had a Democratic governor in more than 20 years. This is the third time in a row that Democrats have chosen a black woman as their nominee for governor.

Stacey Abrams lost in 2018 and 2022 to the current Republican governor Brian Kemp, who is finishing his final term this year and has maintained significant popularity.

In a sign of Bottoms' challenge, I met some voters who are splitting their tickets – voting for the Democrat Jon Ossoff for Senate and Rick Jackson for governor, or voting for Ossoff but leaving the governor’s spot blank.

Bottoms faced intense scrutiny during her time as mayor of Atlanta over questions of public safety and crime during Covid lockdowns. The issue became so contentious that some residents in the affluent neighbourhood of Atlanta, known as Buckhead, tried to secede.

Gary O'Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent in Austin, Texas

There’s a steady stream of voters making their way into the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library, past a thicket of campaign posters and party workers pitching their candidates.

Off to one side, three observers from a coalition of non-partisan groups are watching the vote and handing out information on how to vote.

Morgan, 28, split her ticket – voting Republican in the governor's race and Democrat in the battle for the Senate seat.

"I voted for Greg Abbott and then I voted for James Talarico."

The Senate race weighed heavily, she says: "I have two younger sisters, I have a lot of LGBTQ friends."

She didn’t like some of the messaging on minority issues coming out of the Republican candidate for Senate, Ken Paxton.

Vivian, arriving in an orange Mustang, voted Republican down the ballot. "Taxes, taxes, taxes - that's my main thing right now."

Brian backed the Democrats, citing "the current administration and essentially affordability".

Charlie is more positive. "I've been voting to help Texas go blue for the 15 years I've lived here. Hopefully this is the year."

Kind of, but not as you may know it.

It’s not like a UK election, where the exit poll predicts the overall outcome.

But the voter poll, as it's called, will be our first big clue about what has motivated voters on election day.

The first analysis from this huge survey of the American electorate will land in just under an hour at 17:00 EST (22:00 GMT).

It asks tens of thousands of people their opinions and top concerns about the country - and we’ll be able to look at how that differs by age, gender, education and other demographics as the night goes on.

The Democrats would need to win in at least three of six toss-up races if they are to take control of the Senate.

The Senate has 100 seats overall, meaning that 51 are needed for any one party to have a majority. Only a third of the seats are up for election today.

Currently, the Democrats have 45 to the Republicans' 53, with two held by independents.

There are six Senate races deemed to be a toss-up by independent elections analyst Cook Political Report - Alaska, Kansas, Iowa, Maine, Ohio and Texas.

Michigan had also been classed as a toss-up seat, but as of Tuesday afternoon was now deemed "leans Democrat".

In the House, all seats are up for grabs, and a party needs 218 seats for a majority.

Currently the Democrats have 214 and the Republicans 219. Two seats are currently vacant.

Trump hopes prolific campaigning will persuade supporters to turn out and votepublished at 21:01 GMT 3 November

21:01 GMT 3 November

Sarah Smith
North America editor

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump has repeatedly urged voters to behave as though his name is on the ballot in the mid term elections.

He hopes that, along with his prolific campaigning, will persuade his supporters to turn out and vote. Many of his Maga loyalists tend to vote in presidential elections and not bother with midterms.

But by making himself the centre of the Republican party’s campaign, President Trump is also risking driving voters who don’t like him and his polices to polling stations to vote against his candidates.

Polls suggest a surge in support for Democrats and major losses for Republicans. But polls have underestimated Donald Trump’s support in the past, so they may not be correct this year.

“If we don’t win the midterms, they’re going to blame me,” Trump said at a rally in Tennessee last month.

He might be right. We will soon find out.

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

For weeks, the US justice department has filed election-related lawsuits in states like California and Alaska, most of which are considered unprecedented.

Of late, cases brought by both the federal government and outside groups have been an uphill battle for the Trump administration. Here's the scorecard from this week:

• Yesterday, the US Supreme Court swiftly rejected its bid to exclude ballots from about 20,000 California voters the administration said were suspected of being non-citizens, a lawsuit that lost in lower courts. We have more on California here
• After a dramatic back and forth, an appeals court has ultimately decided to block a lower court’s order, which had barred the Trump administration from threatening California election officials with criminal prosecution over ballots cast by suspected non-citizens. The appeals court decision is a moderate win for the government.
• Over the weekend, a federal judge in Alaska dismissed the government's lawsuit seeking to halt certification of the Senate race's results if the incumbent Republican loses. You can read about that race here

States - not the federal government - run elections. That makes the Trump administration's actions extremely unusual, experts have told me. And we could see more litigation after the polls close.

Nada Tawfik
North America correspondent in Detroit, Michigan

Image source, Getty Images

Even before polls opened today, early voting had significantly outpaced the last midterm election in places with competitive Senate races.

Here in Michigan, more than 2.3 million voters cast their ballots early. That’s more than a third of the state’s registered voters.

The Democrats are feeling good about the numbers.

Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell has a solid track record predicting which way this swing state will go, including ahead of the 2016 election that President Trump won.

She believes the race is leaning towards her party's candidate for Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, based on her conversations with various groups.

He’s been climbing higher and higher in the polls. Also the independent, esteemed Cook Political Report has now changed its prediction for Michigan from "toss-up" to "lean Democrat".

As of last week, more than 43 million voters had already cast their ballots across the country, and overall turnout was on track to outpace 2020.

David Willis
Reporting from Los Angeles, California

Lines have been forming outside polling stations in California, with many in this predominantly Democratic state keen to express their distaste with the Trump administration.

At a polling station in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, actor Remigio Ortiz, 42, accompanied by his German shepherd Sasha, put it bluntly: "Our country’s trash right now, it’s embarrassing. We need change."

That view was echoed by film maker John Backstrom, whose main dilemma is who to vote for in LA’s mayoral contest.

In that race, two Democrats - incumbent Karen Bass and city council member Nithya Raman - are engaged in a tight race to lead America’s second largest city.

Backstrom says his anti-establishment views and desire for change led him to favour Raman, before dismissing former House representative Bass as "useless and corrupt".

Rebecka Pieder
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

Voting is under way in every state across the US - polls in Hawaii were the last to open at around 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT). In what is typically considered a referendum on the ruling party, the midterm elections are officially on.

All polls are open

• Like dominoes falling from east to west, polls have opened successively across the country throughout the day, starting at 05:00 local time in Vermont

Key states

• These races are ones to watch: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio and Texas
• They are all considered toss-ups, meaning they could go either Republican or Democrat

When will we know the results?

• Results will start trickling in at around 18:00 EST (23:00 GMT), but timing will depend on how tight the races are
• An hour before that, we should get the voter poll - our first big clue about what has motivated voters on election day. But it's not like a UK election, where the exit poll predicts the overall outcome

Some hiccups so far:

• Westchester County in New York reported some technical issues, but reassured that all votes would still be counted
• Flooding in Florida has also forced some polling spots to relocate

Stay with us, we'll be continue to bring you updates this evening and through the night.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Columbus, Ohio

"It’s the longest we’ve ever had to be in line - says something about the turnout," Don, 83, tells me.

He and his wife Marilyn Camerino, 80, tell me they queued for nearly an hour to vote here in Upper Arlington, a suburb of Columbus.

Ohio is being bitterly fought, with campaigning down to the wire last night as Democrats try to flip a Republican held US Senate seat and the state governor’s mansion.

Marilyn tells me she voted Republican down the ballot paper. "I would not vote for a Democrat, I would not vote for a socialist."

"This country is going to go in the tank if Democrats get in," she says. I put to them Trump’s request they imagine it’s him on the ballot, rather than his party’s candidates. Don doesn’t see it like that.

"I disagree with what a lot of Trump says and the way he says it," Don tells me. "But I have no disagreement with what he does."

Image source, Getty Images

Vote counts

In the US, each state is in charge of its own elections and has its own rules for counting and processing votes.

Some process early votes prior to the election day, others do so after polls close.

Local election officials verify, process and count individual votes, in a process known as canvassing.

Most states require a formal post-election audit that involves a manual count of ballots checked against machine totals, although rules vary across the country.

All states and localities have rigorous rules specifying who can participate in the canvass, the order in which votes are processed, which parts are open to the public.

Tight races could cause delays in the vote counting, and create the possibility of recounts and legal challenges.

Results

The first results will start to come in after 18:00 EST (23:00 GMT). Early indications could come in as polls continue to close in the following hours, and some states may start to be "called" by US media outlets, but projections could take a while in closely-fought races.

The timing of the overall result will depend on how tight the races are and which end up being decisive.

In 2022, Republicans and Democrats were still in a tight race for control of the US Congress on 9 November, a day after the midterms.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

But even from the International Space Station, you can still have your political voice heard (down on Earth).

Anil Menon, an American astronaut currently working on the International Space Station, around 250 miles (400km) above Earth, says "yes, you can even vote from space!"

The astronaut writes on social media that he and two other Americans on board "filled out an electronic ballot and sent it securely to election officials".

"Welcome to the space station, where today we have the privilege of being able to vote just like you on the ground," he says in a social media video, as he floats in mid-air.

Image source, Getty Images

Verifying some of Trump's claims from the eve of midterm electionspublished at 19:06 GMT 3 November

19:06 GMT 3 November

Image source, Getty Images

By Tom Edgington

On Monday - the final day of campaigning before the midterm elections - US President Donald Trump made claims about crime rates, wealth and drugs prices.

BBC Verify has taken a closer look at what the president said:

"Crime is down close to 90%" in Washington DC

The Metropolitan Police Department statistics show that overall reported crime has fallen in the US capital, external, where Trump deployed federal law enforcement and the National Guard in August 2025, but nowhere near the level claimed by the president

Overall reported crime is 11% lower this year (up to 2 November) compared with 2025. Some categories have fallen faster, such as theft from a motor vehicle (down 40%). But some other categories have gone up, including violent crime (12%).

"We've created $25tn worth of wealth for our country"

It's not clear what measure of "wealth" Trump is referring to.

Federal Reserve figures show US net worth, external - the value of assets owned by households, businesses and government - grew from $155tn in 2024 to $181tn in June.

Trump may have been referring to inward investment.

However, the White House’s own investment tracker, external lists a much lower figure of $11.3 trillion since Trump came to office.

"We had the highest drugs prices in the world and now we have the lowest"

Historically, the US has paid more for drugs than other developed countries and the Trump administration has negotiated to reduce some costs, including launching a website which provides discounts on over 800 prescriptions, external.

According to official inflation data, prescription drug prices fell by 4.5% , externalin the 12 months to September.

However, there is limited data on global drug pricing, so there is no available evidence showing the US now has the lowest.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter in Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has been busy online today, repeatedly posting endorsements on his social media site Truth Social.

He is also still thinking about his Reflecting Pool renovation project, which was at the centre of his speech in Washington yesterday - his last public remarks before today's midterms.

Twice in the last hour or so, Trump has posted about the pool, which has been the subject of a controversial renovation.

In one post, he criticised the Daily Mail for its coverage of his final midterm event yesterday, which he termed a "news conference" rather than a "speech".

In a second post, he accused California Democratic Representative Ted Liu of spreading "malicious, false and defamatory statements" that Trump wanted to rename the pool after himself.

The pool, and a number of other large-scale renovation and construction sites in Washington, are a topic that is important to President Trump - he mentions them regularly.

His focus on the pool yesterday raised eyebrows among observers who wondered what, if any, electoral benefit such remarks would have when polls show that many Americans are primarily concerned with the US economy.

Norberto Paredes
BBC Mundo

Image source, Getty Images

Raids and detentions have brought one of the country's top political issues - immigration - right to the neighbourhoods and doorsteps of many Latino families in Florida.

For many, actions taken by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) are personal, affecting relatives, friends and entire communities.

The impact is being felt even among groups who have traditionally enjoyed more favourable treatment under US immigration law, including Cuban Americans, many of whom supported president Trump in the 2024 election.

Latino families in the state have also been affected, both directly and indirectly, by the Trump administration's restrictions on asylum and ending of temporary deportation protections for roughly one million migrants who entered the US during the Biden administration.

Now, the big question is: Will growing frustration with Trump translate into votes for Democrats and how many Latino voters, particularly Cuban and Venezuelan Americans in Florida, will stick with Republicans.

While some may oppose Trump's immigration policies, others may be reluctant to weaken his political position, fearing he would have a harder time delivering on promises to "take care of Cuba" or "make Venezuela great again".