Voters cast their ballots as Republicans hope to hold control of US Congress

Washington, Nov 3 (AP) Election Day is here. Voters nationwide will decide control of the US House and Senate. Democrats must flip four seats in the Senate and three seats in the House to wrest control of the chambers from Republicans.

     Control of Congress would give Democrats a way to push back against President Donald Trump's agenda during the final two years of his term. The battle for control is playing out mostly in states and districts Trump previously won by wide margins.

     The latest:

     Voting machine programming blamed for election issues in New York county

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     The vote-counting issues bedeviling Westchester County stem from a program update that happened after polling equipment was initially prepared and tested, according to the state Board of Elections.

     A change in an unnamed local race required an update that wasn't made to machines in other counties, the board said. As a result, those tabulators were unable to recognise completed Election Day ballots.

     State officials said they're working with their counterparts in Westchester County to restore ballot-scanning capability to at least one vote-counting machine at every polling location. Voting continues through established emergency ballot procedures.

     Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins vowed to launch a bipartisan investigation into what he called a “debacle.”

     Arizona voter hopes to see more conservative govt after election

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     John Shaw of Phoenix said he showed up to the polls on Tuesday to support “American values” and “patriotic things”.

     Shaw, who declined to say which candidates he picked, said he hoped to see government “be a little more conservative” and to see “less government” overall after the election.

     Democratic Arizona Gov Katie Hobbs is seeking a second term but faces a challenge from Republican Rep Andy Biggs. Voters will also decide a full slate of contests, including congressional and state legislative races that could shift the balance of power both in Washington and in the state government.

     While there were long lines at Shaw's polling place, he said it was still exciting to talk to fellow voters.

     Georgia Democratic Sen Ossoff seeks second term against GOP Rep Collins

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     A year ago, Ossoff was considered Democrats' most vulnerable incumbent. The campaign hasn't turned out that way.

     Ossoff had no primary opposition, and he quickly became a fundraising machine, exciting Democrats nationally with his broadsides against Trump. He collected at least $109 million, tops among all Senate candidates.

     Republicans had an extended primary battle. Rep. Mike Collins, a self-declared “MAGA warrior” who echoes Trump's 2020 election denial, received the president's late endorsement and defeated Derek Dooley.

     Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the Republican whom GOP leaders wanted to run, backed Dooley and spent the spring telling voters Collins couldn't win in November.

     Collins struggled to hit the $10 million fundraising mark, and he was dogged by questions about an unresolved House ethics investigation and his ties to white nationalists.

     Ossoff is trying to capitalize on Election Day as some Democrats openly hope he runs for president in 2028.

     2 states could ban transgender girls from girls sports

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     Voters in reliably Democratic Colorado and Washington are deciding on ballot measures that would ban transgender girls from girls' sports competitions.

     Both supporters and opponents say that if one or both are adopted, it could open the door to further measures in Democratic-led states in coming elections.

     Similar measures are on the ballot in Arizona, where voters are being asked to apply an existing ban to private schools, and in Nebraska, where a measure would add an existing ban in state law to the state constitution.

     Every state where both the legislature and governor's office are held by Republicans has already passed a law like this. But no state has done it through a ballot question so far.

     The votes come at a time when a growing number of Democratic politicians are saying transgender girls shouldn't be allowed to play girls' sports.

     Vance's Election Day message makes misleading claims about tax cuts

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     In a post on X, the vice president sought to remind voters about the Trump administration's effort to cut taxes over the past year and a half.

     “We ended taxes on overtime. We ended taxes on tips. We ended taxes on Social Security,” Vance wrote on the social media platform.

     But the changes made by the wide-ranging tax law enacted by Trump are not that clear-cut.

     More than 40 states have not implemented the federal law ending taxes on tips, meaning workers who receive a federal tax deduction for tips or overtime still will owe state taxes on those earnings.

     As for taxes on Social Security, the legislation targeted seniors' income with a temporary benefit, not just Social Security.

     Data centre backlash may be potent election issue

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     Opposition to data centres in communities across the US has snowballed from a local issue into a midterm election weapon in statewide races from Texas to Ohio to Florida amid the artificial intelligence revolution.

     Candidates spent millions to paint their opponents as data centre patsies — giving them nicknames like “Data Nate” — as onetime data centre boosters worked to distance themselves or get tough on the industry.

     They had an ally: Trump urged communities to accept data centres, as the industry spent millions to boost its image.

     Meanwhile, the issue crossed traditional ideological boundaries.

     Labour unions became allies of tech giants, as they scrambled to build the behemoth projects.

     Clean energy advocates became staunch critics of data centres, as energy-hungry server warehouses set off the biggest-ever construction boom of natural gas-fired power plants. Ranchers and farmers worried about water shortages or losing agricultural land.

     Democrats aim to capture majority of governors' offices for first time since 2006

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     If they pull it off, it would be the first time in two decades that Democrats hold a majority of the governors' offices.

     All told, 36 states will elect a governor on Nov 3. Heading into the elections, Republicans held a 26-24 majority. Democrats need to pick up two more states to capture a majority. Democrats last gained a majority in 2006 and lost it four years later.

     The parties see about a dozen races as competitive.

     Democrats' best opportunities to pick up a governor's office are in Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Nevada and Ohio.

     Republicans' best opportunity to capture an executive suite is in Kansas.

     Next on the GOP's list are Wisconsin's and Michigan's open governor's offices.

     Democrats think they have a chance in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

     Helicopter to help South Carolina island count votes faster

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     Several hundred ballots from South Carolina's most remote precinct should be counted a lot faster Tuesday night thanks to the local sheriff's office helicopter.

     There are no bridges to Daufuskie Island on the far southern coast of the state. In previous elections, voting officials had to collect ballots and other equipment and wait for the regular ferry schedule or another boat, which could delay results for five hours.

     There are stories of one night the Daufuskie Island precinct left everyone waiting until the early morning hours because the person bringing the votes back stopped because the fishing was good.

     Millions of voters face new laws at ballot box

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     More than three dozen voting laws passed in Republican-controlled states are taking effect for the first time this year, many of them containing elements of proposals that Trump tried unsuccessfully to get through Congress.

     At the state level, the changes include new requirements to show proof of citizenship. College students in New Hampshire won't be using college IDs. Iowa voters without ID can't count on other voters to vouch for them, and some voters in Mississippi might need birth certificates or passports for verification.

     Naturalised citizens might get to polling places and learn they've been purged because databases used to check their citizenship against voter registration lists are outdated.

     Opponents say the restrictions make it harder for eligible voters to vote. Republican lawmakers who support the tighter voting laws, especially around voter ID, say they help build trust in elections.

     Flooding prompts relocation of some polling places in Florida

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     Some voters in Florida were being directed to cast their ballots in new places on Tuesday after their polling sites were relocated due to continued rain and flooding.

     Florida elections officials said 21 polling places in eight counties were moved. The relocations were mostly along the central and southern Atlantic coast, with some inland counties included. County officials said they notified voters by text and email, and signs were posted at voting locations directing people to the new sites.

     Some residents expressed frustration and concern on social media that some voters may not be able to get to the polls because of flooding.

     Amy Keith, the Florida state director for Common Cause, said the flooding is a big issue.

     “Today it has already been a pretty challenging morning,” she said, urging voters to double-check their voting locations with election supervisors.

     Schumer says he's 'nauseously optimistic'

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     After casting his vote at a Brooklyn school, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said he was optimistic that when polls close, “there will be a new Democratic majority in the United States Senate.”

     “We don't want to count our chickens before they hatch. So I'd characterise our mood as nauseously optimistic,” Schumer said.

     He predicted that Democrat Abdul El-Sayed would win the US Senate race in Michigan, despite the decision by his former primary opponent, US Rep Haley Stevens, to endorse Republican Mike Rogers.

     “She's one vote,” Schumer said. “He's going to win tonight because he's talking about what Michiganders care about.”

     Schumer said that a year ago, no one thought the Democrats might be in a position to retake the Senate. But he credited the party's “relentless” focus on affordability and “chaos overseas in a war with Iran that nobody wants” with making Democrats more competitive. (AP) SCY

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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)