US midterms open as Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots

Election day in the United States

Americans vote on Tuesday, 3 November, in midterm elections for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and about a third of the Senate. US federal elections have fallen on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November since 1845, a rule set in the 19th century when harvests were done and no one had to travel to a polling station on a Sunday. Many voters did not wait for the day itself. The Election Lab at the University of Florida counted about 54 million early votes by Sunday afternoon, local time. Trump is not on the ballot, yet the contest is effectively a vote on his policies, two years into his second term. Results from individual races are expected overnight, in Germany from the night to Wednesday, 4 November, once polls close and the major US networks start announcing winners.

Democrats need four Senate seats

To take the Senate majority from Trump's Republicans, Democrats must gain four seats, according to tagesschau.de. Stern puts the requirement at three extra seats in one chamber and four in the other, and says polls suggest Democrats could win back the House and possibly the Senate. Races to watch include Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Kansas and Alaska. In Alaska, two Senate candidates are both named Dan Sullivan, a naming dispute that has drawn attention. In the final days before the vote, talk of betrayal, intrigue and conspiracy has circulated within the Democratic Party, according to stern.de.

Supreme Court rejects California ballot bid

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to set aside ballots of more than 20,000 voters in California, questioning whether they are US citizens. On Monday, 2 November, the court rejected the request without giving reasons and without hearing the other side. Two courts had already turned down the Justice Department's push, including a federal court in the week of 26 October, which called the move a brazen interference shortly before the election. California argues that the list is flawed and could cost lawful voters their ballots.

Prices and the campaign agenda

Campaigning centred on affordability, with high supermarket prices weighing on many households, according to tagesschau.de. Fuel prices have climbed since the war with Iran, and migration policy remains a standing point of dispute. A Tagesspiegel column says living costs have risen sharply rather than falling as Trump promised. A Focus commentary argues that the promised jobs boom failed to materialise, and that fuel prices, inflation, the budget deficit and public debt are at record levels. The same commentary says US soldiers have been left to clean up the consequences of the Iran war.