LIVE: US Midterm Elections: Voting underway as Americans poll to decide who controls Congress - US markets trade higher

Republicans, Democrats urge Americans to vote

Republicans have plans to cut Social Security and Medicare, pass a national abortion ban, and have voted against measures to lower costs for American families.

Remember that when you vote today.

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) November 8, 2022

Polls are open until 7:30 tonight so make sure to go vote if you haven’t already! I humbly ask for your vote. #ncsen #ncpol pic.twitter.com/4Qo5NGH4T7

— Ted Budd (@TedBuddNC) November 8, 2022

Blue Mirage, Red Mirage

The earliest vote tallies will be skewed by how quickly states count mail ballots.

Because Democrats vote by mail more often than Republicans, states that let officials get an early jump on counting mail ballots could report big Democratic leads early on that evaporate as vote counters work through piles of Republican-leaning ballots that were cast on election day.

In these "blue mirage" states - which include Florida and North Carolina - election officials are allowed to remove mail ballots from their envelopes before Election Day and load them in vote counting machines, allowing for speedy counting.

States including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin don't allow officials to open the envelopes until Election Day, leading to a possible "red mirage" in which Republican-leaning Election Day ballots are reported earlier, with many Democratic-leaning mail ballots counted later.

Inputs From Reuters

Biden's next 2 years: changes afoot whatever midterms bring

Joe Biden's record is on the ballot even if his name isn't. And no matter what Tuesday's midterm elections bring, his presidency is set for profound changes.

In public, Biden professed optimism to the end, telling Democratic state party officials on election eve that "we're going to surprise the living devil out of people" In private, though, White House aides have been drawing up contingencies should Republicans take control of one, or both, chambers of Congress - a scenario Biden said would make his life more difficult.

Regardless of the outcome, the votes will help reshape the balance of Biden's term after an ambitious first two years and will reorder his White House priorities.

O'Rourke hopes to upset Republican Texas Gov. Abbott's bid for 3rd term

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sought a record-tying third term Tuesday while Democrat Beto O'Rourke reached for an upset in America's biggest red state in one of the most expensive midterm races in the U.S.

More than 5 million early votes had already been cast ahead of Election Day in Texas, where anger over the Uvalde school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead in May intensified an already heated contest in which both candidates' campaigns combined spent more than $200 million.

Inputs From PTI

Market implications from US mid-term elections

With a Democrat in the White House, the best market performance has come when Republicans held either the House, Senate or both.

Average annual S&P 500 returns have been 14% in a split Congress and 13% in a Republican-held Congress under a Democratic president, according to data since 1932 analyzed by RBC Capital Markets. That compares with 10% when Democrats controlled the presidency and Congress.

The S&P 500 is down 20% this year.

Election scrutiny high, but no big hitches as voting continues

Final voting began without major hitches Tuesday in midterm elections under intense scrutiny after two years of false claims and conspiracy theories about how ballots are cast and counted.

With polls open across most of the country, no big problems were reported early in the day, though there were hiccups in some places, which is typical on any Election Day.

For example, tabulators were not working in a county in New Jersey and at a polling place in Arizona -- potentially requiring hand-counting instead -- and some voting sites places in Pennsylvania were delayed in the opening because workers showed up late.

Inputs From PTI

When do we know which party won?

The first wave of vote tallies are expected on the East Coast between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET (0000-0100 GMT Wednesday, Nov. 9). An early indication of Republican success could come if the races expected to be close - like Virginia's 7th congressional district or a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina - turn out to be Democratic routs.

By around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. ET, when polls in the Midwest will be closed for an hour or more, it's possible Republicans will have enough momentum for experts at U.S. media organizations to project control of the House, said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

If the fight for the House still looks close as vote tallies start coming in from the West Coast - where there could be more than a dozen tight House races - it could be days before control of the chamber is known, experts said.

California typically takes weeks to count all its ballots, in part because it counts ballots postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive days afterward. Nevada and Washington state also allow late ballots if postmarked by Nov. 8, slowing down the march to final results.

If Georgia's Senate race is as close as expected and no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a run-off election would be scheduled for Dec. 6, possibly meaning it will be unclear who will control the chamber until then. The new Congress is set to be inaugurated on Jan. 3, 2023.

What we know so far

The party that controls the White House typically loses seats in midterm elections. Nonpartisan forecasts suggest Tuesday`s results will be no exception, as concerns about high inflation and crime outweigh the end of national abortion rights and the violent Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol in voters` minds.

Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 House of Representatives seats are on the ballot. Republicans are widely favored to pick up the five seats they need to control the House, while the Senate - currently split 50-50 with Democrats holding the tie-breaking vote - could come down to a quartet of toss-up races in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, and Arizona.

More than 42 million Americans voted ahead of Election Day, either by mail or in-person, according to data from the US Election Project.

Millions of Americans have already cast ballots either early in person or by mail for the 2022 midterms, with millions more set to vote in person at their polling places.

Inputs From Agencies

The midterms arrive at a volatile moment for the US, which emerged this year from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic only to confront sharp economic challenges. The Supreme Court stripped away the constitutional right to an abortion, eliminating protections that had been in place for five decades.

And in the first national election since the Jan 6 insurrection, the nation's democratic future is in question. Some who participated in or were in the vicinity of the deadly attack are poised to win elected office on Tuesday, including House seats.

Inputs From PTI

US markets open higher as mid-term polling continues 

US stock indexes opened higher on Tuesday (November 8) as voting began in the crucial midterm election that will determine control of Congress, with investors hoping for a political gridlock that could prevent radical policy changes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 107.56 points, or 0.33%, at the open to 32,934.56. The S&P 500 opened higher by 10.22 points, or 0.27%, at 3,817.02, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 47.01 points, or 0.44%, to 10,611.53 at the opening bell.

Republicans look to win back power in Congress

Energised Republicans are eager to claw back power in Congress, working to break the Democrats' one-party hold in Washington and putting the future of President Joe Biden's agenda at stake this Election Day.

With the narrowly held House and an evenly split Senate, Democrats could easily see their fragile grasp on power slip as they face a new generation of Republican candidates.

Charismatic outsiders and populists, many newcomers to public office who have become inspired by Donald Trump, promise to end Biden's once lofty ideas and launch investigations and oversight, even, potentially, impeachment of Biden.

Tuesday brings the first major national elections since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, and emotions are raw.

Inputs From PTI

Democrats campaigning through Twitter continues

Reminder as you head to the polls: Congressional Republicans voted against lowering health care costs through the Inflation Reduction Act. Let’s vote them out.

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) November 8, 2022

Key state Pennsylvania's Republican Senate candidate casts vote

Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate, Dr. Mehmet Oz cast his ballot on Tuesday (November 8) in one of the most closely-watched races of the campaign season.

"I`m very proud of how we ran this campaign. Pennsylvania sent a very clear message to Washington. We want less radicalism and more balance," Oz told reporters outside the polling station.

The 62-year-old celebrity doctor backed by President Donald Trump, has campaigned with the former Republican president on multiple occasions.

The Democratic nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, the state`s current lieutenant governor.

'House is Tougher'

US President Joe Biden said he thought Democrats would keep the Senate but acknowledged 'the House is tougher'.