Early voting begins in US midterm elections that could flip control of Congress

(AP) — In-person voting for this year’s midterm elections began Friday, ushering in the final six weeks for Americans to decide which party they trust to lead Congress through a cost-of-living crisis, a prolonged war in Iran and other pressing issues.Election administrators say they are prepared and confident the vote will be accurate and secure. Nevertheless, President Donald Trump has continued with efforts to denigrate certain voting methods and reshape how elections are run, through court challenges, an expansive federal hunt for noncitizen voters and a pressure campaign to force election officials to share sensitive voter data.Friday marked the start of early voting in Virginia. Voters in a handful of other states, including Idaho, Minnesota and South Dakota, can cast absentee ballots in person, typically at a local election office or voting center.

More expansive early voting is scheduled to begin in those and other states in the coming weeks.At a voting location in Fairfax, Virginia, 18-year-old college student Sanya Singhal was among the first to vote early in person Friday morning, arriving well before the site opened to get in line.“Why not just have a little fun in life, you know, try to be the first early voter?” she said. “I really want to participate in my democracy.”The Nov. 3 election includes votes for governor and state legislature in most states and will determine whether Republicans maintain control of the U.S.

If Democrats retake Congress, it will alter the trajectory of the final two years of Trump’s term, most likely leading to investigations and other oversight efforts.Voting underway after unusual redistricting and Trump's bid to control how elections are runThe start of early voting comes at a time of deep angst among many Americans about issues including rising gas and grocery prices, the war in Iran, the looming risks of artificial intelligence and Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign.It also follows an unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House that began when Trump urged the Republican-controlled legislature in Texas to redraw its congressional map to help the party. California and other states followed.The changes affect millions of people: Research shows 1 in 10 Americans this fall is a resident of a different congressional district than in 2024.Those parti…