Politics

Election Day 2018

Today is Election Day in the United States and the first nationwide election since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. Voters heading to the polls will be able to cast their ballots for their House Representative, ballot measures, local elections and, in some states, their Senator or governor. Early voting numbers predict that the 2018 midterm will have a voter turnout that far surpasses past midterm elections.

About 40 million people have voted early in the 2018 midterms; more people voted early in Texas and Nevada than voted in Texas or Nevada in the 2014 midterms. It is predicted that 105.5 million people will vote in the 2018 election while only 82 million people voted in 2014. However, if 105.5 million people vote in this election, that is still only 45 percent of the eligible voting population. The United States has a lower turnout rate than most developed countries; Belgium, Turkey, and Australia have turnout rates that are over 80 percent of the eligible voting population. The surge of people voting in the 2018 election includes a large increase in youth voters and first time voters.

To vote today, vote.org has a feature that allows voters to find their polling place as well as Rock the Vote. Vote Save America has a tool that allows voters to learn more about their own specific ballots.

Poll results will start returning once the first polls close at 6 PM ET in Indiana and Kentucky. The last polls close in Alaska at 1 AM ET.

 

Media Resources: Politico 11/5/18; Buzzfeed 11/5/18; NYT 11/6/18; Quartz 11/6/18; Washington Post 11/6/18

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