Polling places opened across the United States for the 2026 midterm elections after more than 58 million people had already voted early. The total is a record for a midterm election. Democrats could win control of the House of Representatives and potentially the Senate, a result that could complicate the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term.

In Texas, voters at a campaign event in Austin voiced support for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico. Nate Hill, a 26-year-old engineer who said he had voted for Trump in 2020 and 2024, said his views changed over the Iran war and its economic consequences. Jessica Wright, visiting from Michigan, said she had donated to Talarico’s campaign, while Austin resident Lizzie Reynolds cited concerns about education and said she and her husband planned to monitor polling places.

Election authorities also issued warnings and outlined security measures. Officials in Georgia’s Fulton County said fraudulent text messages had falsely claimed that polling locations were changing and urged voters to check the official state election website. The messages’ origin and the number of people affected were not specified. In Florida, meanwhile, around 20 polling places were moved because of flooding.

The Justice Department said it was deploying election observers in all 50 states for the first time in a midterm election. About 1,000 observers are assigned across the country to monitor compliance with federal voting laws. The deployment has drawn concern from the NAACP over the involvement of agents from several law enforcement agencies; a judge rejected the group’s challenge but required the department to clarify how it would exclude agents authorized to make arrests. Observers were instructed not to interfere with voting.

National Guard personnel have also been mobilized or placed on alert in several states to assist with cybersecurity and election security. The National Guard Bureau said no federal troops would be sent to polling places. State governors can, however, deploy their own National Guard units under state command.

Bruce Springsteen called on election officials to protect the integrity of the vote, urging them in a video posted on Instagram not to follow directions that could undermine the constitutional right to free and fair elections.

Voters in California were also deciding on a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires. A poll published by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies on October 29 found that 42% of respondents planned to support the measure, 50% opposed it and 8% were undecided.

Sources: Le Monde.