HOW TO WATCH THIS WILD ELECTION NIGHT
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
 
Spreadsheets delight me. But no election year has required more extensive spreadsheeting than this one. 
 
On top of a full slate of competitive House and Senate seats, this year we are also watching all 36 races for governor and 26 races for secretary of state more closely than ever.
 
So that you don’t need to spreadsheet all of this yourself, here are two overarching guidelines and 10 key races to help frame the night. Note: These are races where we expect significant results today. Many key races may not be resolved until tomorrow or later. 

2 overarching guidelines

1. We may not know the fate of either the House or the Senate tonight. There are dozens of close races and a series of key states with very slow counts, including Pennsylvania and Nevada. Together those factors mean we may not know the fate of the House tomorrow night. And we may not know who controls the Senate chamber for days beyond that, possibly not until December if the Georgia Senate race goes to a runoff and the chamber is unchanged.
2. But we could see enough House district results tonight to get an idea of the trend there.

First, let’s talk about some early-results races in the House of Representatives.

Indiana’s 1st Congressional District
Covers northwest corner of Indiana, including Gary
Polls close: 7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. CST)

Democratic freshman Rep. Frank Mrvan is running against “America First” Air Force veteran and Republican candidate Jennifer-Ruth Green in this race. Biden won this longtime Democratic district by more than eight percentage points. If Republicans win here, it could be a sign of a potential wave.

Virginia’s 7th Congressional District
Covers northern and central Virginia
Polls close: 7 p.m. EST
 
This race tests the feelings of suburban and exurban voters. Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer, faces Republican Yesli Vega, a law enforcement officer. The seat was once thought too hard to reach for the GOP. But after millions in spending, it’s now a test of whether a strong Democrat can survive the 2022 climate.

Ohio’s 1st Congressional District
Covers Cincinnati area
Polls close: 7:30 p.m. EST

Redistricting has made the longtime Republican incumbent, Steve Chabot, vulnerable here. His Democratic opponent, Greg Landsman, is a Cincinnati city councilman and nonprofit leader. If Democrats capture this seat, it could be a boost early in the night.

New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District
Covers Manchester, seacoast and eastern New Hampshire
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST
 
If Republicans roll through districts like IN-01 and VA-07, the next place to look for the size of any wave is the Granite State. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas faces a first-time political candidate in 25-year-old Karoline Leavitt, a former White House aide to former President Donald Trump and someone who previously denied the results of the 2020 election. Pappas has been ahead in polls for weeks, until the past few days.

Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District
Covers Newtown, parts of Waterbury
Polls close: 8 p.m. EST

Former National Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes represents a district that voted for Biden by 11 points. In usual years, she would not be in jeopardy. But Republican challenger George Logan has a chance, thanks to the overall climate. Another good one to watch to determine if Republicans are feeling a wave effect.

New York’s 3rd Congressional District
Covers Queens and western Long Island
Polls close: 9 p.m. EST
 
Even ahead of results, this race is historic. It is the first time both major party nominees for Congress have been openly gay. If pro-Trump Republican George Santos wins against Democrat Rob Zimmerman, he will be the first Republican to win his seat in Congress as an openly gay man.

Now to the Senate …

Georgia
Polls close: 7 p.m. EST
 
Republican Herschel Walker’s political career, while technically just over a year old, has racked up several lifetimes of news headlines already. This seat is a must-win for Democrats, but they have seen incumbent Raphael Warnock’s lead disintegrate into a toss-up in recent weeks. Republicans now hope to get over 50 percent and avoid a runoff.

Nevada
Polls close: 10 p.m. EST. (7 p.m. PST)
Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is Republicans’ best hope to gain a seat in the Senate — and potentially the chamber itself. Her opponent, Adam Laxalt, is the son and grandson of senators, and has the unusual combinations of endorsements from both Trump and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. This toss-up race, perhaps more than any other, is key to the fate of the Senate.
 
Governors and secretaries of state

Wisconsin governor
Polls close: 9 p.m. EST (8 p.m. CST)
 
This perennial toss-up state is at it again. This time, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is being challenged by Army veteran and construction businessman Tim Michels, who has denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

Arizona secretary of state
Polls close: 9 p.m. EST (7 p.m. MST)
 
Several Republican nominees for secretary of state across the country have asserted unproven and debunked claims about the 2020 election. But among them, Mark Finchem stands out for his repeated rejection of the results and his self-proclaimed identity as an Oath Keeper. He is locked in a very close race with Democrat Adrian Fontes. Arizona, overall, is expected to be a critical state again in the 2024 elections.

WHEN POLLS CLOSE IN EACH STATE
By Kyle Midura, @KyleMidura
Politics Producer
 
Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage
Senior Editor, Digital
 
What time do the polls close in your state?

The NewsHour made the map below to show the latest poll close times in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. All times are Eastern Standard. Do note that, depending on the county or city, there may be an earlier closing time than the statewide poll close because of multiple time zones within the state.

• 7 p.m. EST — Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia
• 7:30 p.m. EST — North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia
• 8 p.m. EST — Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee
• 8:30 p.m. EST — Arkansas
• 9 p.m. EST — Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming
• 10 p.m. EST —  Montana, Nevada, Utah
• 11 pm EST — California, Idaho, mail-in ballots due in Washington state, Oregon
• 12 a.m. EST —  Hawaii (Technically all vote by mail but have voter service centers.)
• 1 a.m. EST —  Alaska (Most polls close at midnight EST.)

As polls start to close on Election Day, it’s good to remember that each state has their own way of counting votes and we likely won’t know some outcomes before we go to bed.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT YOUR SECRETARY OF STATE

By Hannah Grabenstein, @hgrabenstein
General Assignment Digital Reporter
 
Jenna Cohen, @JennaRCohen
Roy W. Howard Fellow
 
In 38 states, the secretary of state is the chief election official, a role required by federal law, often in charge of running and certifying elections of their local, state and national leaders. In 31 states, the secretary of state has to run for office, meaning they are not nonpartisan, but usually affiliated as Democrats or Republicans.
 
The United States has a decentralized election system, which means that every state runs its own elections and the duties performed by the secretary of state (SoS) vary from place to place. In states where the SoS is the chief election officer, they control nearly every aspect of how elections are run.
 
Knowing your SoS can help you better understand your state’s election procedures, making you a more informed voter. Though the SoS might not be your state’s chief election officer, one official’s actions can have state – and even national – impact.
 
For example, Maine was the first state to enact same-day voter registration in 1973. A process run by their secretary of state, same-day registration — now offered in 22 states and D.C. — allows voters to register and vote at the same time. This often correlates with stronger voter turnout in state and federal elections.
 
Your state’s SoS website is one resource where you can find services like online voter registration, office announcements and contact information, to help you write to, call or visit your secretary to voice concerns or questions.
 
While people who study American democracy say the vast majority of secretaries of state are impartial, they also warn that a new batch of candidates who deny the results of the 2020 election are calling that impartiality into question.
 
According to the experts we talked to, it’s very unlikely that a rogue secretary of state alone could actually overturn the results of an election, or even refuse to certify the results. But these officials can use their power to undermine faith in elections. When the public believes elections are run by partisans, they may not see the election — or its results — as impartial, and, ultimately, that their vote matters.

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Matt Loffman, @mattloff
Politics Producer
 
It’s Election Day. (The best day of the year, says the Here’s the Deal team.)
 
But why does this random day in November get all the glory? You can trace that back to 1845 when Congress passed a law establishing presidential election day as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. That means the earliest Election Day will ever be is Nov. 2. That also means today — Nov. 8 — is the latest date it can be. The last time Election Day fell on Nov. 8 was in 2016 when Donald Trump was elected president.
 
Our question: When is the next time a presidential or congressional election will be held on Nov. 8?
 
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
 
Last week, we asked: How many times has the Senate been split evenly between Democrats and Republicans?
 
The answer: Four. The first evenly divided Senate in U.S. history happened in 1881 with 37 Republicans, 37 Democrats and two independents. Chester Arthur, Republican vice president at the time, had the tie-breaking vote.
 
Congratulations to our winners: Deborah Potter and Kay Norred!
 
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.