The first set of polls for the U.S. midterm elections have opened in several states as Americans decide which political party controls Congress.
The first polling stations have opened in Vermont, starting at 10:00 GMT. Voting in New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, and parts of Kentucky and Indiana started an hour later.
Voting in Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania and New York started between 11:00 GMT and 12:00 GMT, while Ohio and North Carolina will see voting start at 11:30 GMT. In Michigan, polls will open at 12:00 GMT.
All 435 House of Representatives seats and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats are up for grabs. Voters in 36 states will also elect governors.
If Democrats win control of Congress, they could stall Trump’s legislative agenda. About 54 million of 210 million registered voters have already cast their ballots through early in-person and mail-in voting.
The first results are expected on Tuesday as polls begin to close at 23:00 GMT. But final results might take days.
The party holding the White House typically loses congressional seats at midterm elections and Democrats are hoping Donald Trump’s nose-diving popularity can be exploited to generate a “blue wave” groundswell of popular opposition that will win them both the Senate and the House.
They are seeking to wrest control over both chambers of Congress to put a brake on Trump’s presidential power, which has gone largely unchecked as he has launched a fierce immigration crackdown involving mass arrests and deportations, waged war on Iran, imposed tariffs on foreign imports, and embarked on vainglorious building projects, including a White House ballroom.
Nearly 58.7 million of the roughly 210 million registered voters cast early ballots in the midterm elections, according to a University of Florida analysis.
