Voting is under way across the United States in Tuesday’s crucial midterm elections, with reports of technical difficulties, severe weather disruptions and attempts to mislead voters emerging as Americans decide whether US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party will retain control of Congress.

The latest developments include the vandalism of Republican Senator Susan Collins’s office in Maine, problems with ballot-scanning equipment in New York and the relocation of 23 polling stations in Florida because of flooding.

Election officials have stressed that ballots affected by technical problems will still be counted, while federal authorities have launched an unprecedented election monitoring operation amid heightened scrutiny of the voting process.

The elections will determine control of all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats, potentially reshaping Trump’s ability to advance his political agenda during the final two years of his second presidential term.

Republican senator’s office vandalised in Maine

One of the latest incidents reported on Election Day involved the office of Republican Senator Susan Collins in Biddeford, Maine, which was vandalised overnight as she seeks re-election to a sixth term.

According to CNN and the Wall Street Journal, unidentified individuals poured red paint outside the building and painted the words “BLOOD on her HANDS” near its entrance.

The incident was discovered on Tuesday morning, prompting condemnation from Collins’s staff.

Her chief of staff, Katie Brown, described the vandalism as another attempt to intimidate the senator and her employees.

“These tactics are disturbing, but they are not effective,” Brown said, adding that staff remained undeterred and continued their work.

Collins’s office had previously been targeted in September, when vandals left an offensive message on the building.

The senator is facing Democrat Troy Jackson in one of the most closely watched Senate contests. As the only Republican senator representing a New England state, Collins has become a significant figure in the battle for control of the upper chamber.

Trump attacks Daily Mail over election coverage

Meanwhile, Trump launched a fresh attack on the British newspaper Daily Mail, accusing it of misrepresenting remarks he made during a presidential press conference near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington on Monday.

In a post on Truth Social, the president disputed a report suggesting that he had delivered a final midterm campaign speech before an audience of just 60 people.

Trump insisted the event was a press conference closed to the public rather than a campaign rally.

“It was not a final speech for the midterms with only 60 people in attendance, it was a PRESS CONFERENCE,” he wrote.

TRUMP: Accuses Daily Mail of misrepresenting joke about renaming Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool "TRUMP" and calling reporters-only news conference a final midterms speech to 60 people https://t.co/SWNRyDk2rP

— Trump Truths (@trumptruthsbot) November 3, 2026

He also accused the newspaper of deliberately misinterpreting a joke about renaming the Reflecting Pool after himself, arguing that he had made clear that he was joking.

The president said his actual final election campaign appearances had taken place in Iowa and Kansas, where he claimed crowds totalling 50,000 people had attended.

His comments came as Republicans and Democrats made their final appeals to voters, with control of both chambers of Congress at stake.

Michigan Senate battle intensifies as Obama backs Democratic candidate

Another closely watched development came from Michigan, where Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers expressed confidence that he would defeat Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

After casting his ballot on Tuesday, Rogers told reporters that his campaign was satisfied with its position heading into election night.

“We feel very good about where we are today and look forward to tonight’s results,” he said.

The race has attracted national attention following Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens’s unexpected decision to endorse Rogers, despite having previously competed against El-Sayed for the Democratic nomination.

Rogers thanked Stevens for her endorsement, arguing that she had put the country ahead of her party.

Former President Barack Obama, however, has thrown his support behind El-Sayed, recording a telephone message urging Michigan voters to back the Democratic candidate.

Obama highlighted El-Sayed’s medical background and his campaigning on employment, healthcare and the cost of living.

The Michigan contest is among several Senate races that could determine whether Republicans maintain their majority.

Election officials promise quick results in Georgia

In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said election officials were prepared to deliver results promptly despite isolated equipment problems.

Raffensperger reported that approximately 1,000 early ballots in Fulton County would be rescanned as a precaution following screen errors involving voting equipment.

He insisted the additional checks would not delay the overall count.

“The big day is here, and Georgia’s ready,” Raffensperger said, describing the state’s election administration as a model for the country.

Officials also reported that one polling station in Mitchell County had opened approximately 10 minutes late, with arrangements available to extend voting if necessary.

The Georgia Senate contest is another important battleground in the fight for control of Congress.

Misleading text messages sent to Georgia voters

Earlier on Tuesday, officials in Fulton County, Georgia, warned residents about misleading text messages falsely informing them that their polling stations had changed.

The messages appeared during voting, raising concerns that some voters could be directed away from their correct polling locations.

County authorities stressed that the messages had not originated from official election services.

“These messages have not been sent by Fulton County,” officials said.

Residents were advised to verify their polling station through the state’s official Georgia My Voter service or by contacting election authorities directly.

The warnings emerged as election administrators nationwide remained alert to possible attempts to disrupt voting or spread misinformation.

Flooding forces 23 Florida polling stations to relocate

Severe flooding in parts of Florida has prompted authorities to relocate 23 polling stations, creating logistical challenges for voters trying to cast their ballots.

Initially, officials announced that 18 polling locations would be moved before voting began. Further changes during Election Day increased the total to 23, according to information published by Florida election authorities.

Two of the affected polling stations were in Broward County, where voters also faced a separate technical problem early on Tuesday.

A malfunction in an electronic ballot-processing system temporarily interrupted voting across the county for approximately 20 minutes.

Joe Scott, Broward County’s supervisor of elections, said the problem involved a system designed to ensure that voters received the correct ballot at polling locations serving multiple electoral districts.

The equipment incorrectly rejected ballots, forcing officials to bypass the affected verification function before voting could resume.

Scott reassured voters that the incident had not compromised the count.

“No one voted with the wrong ballot. No tabulation was affected,” he said.

He encouraged residents who had left without voting during the interruption to return before polling stations closed.

The Associated Press also reported weather-related problems in parts of the American Southwest, including Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, where heavy rainfall and flash flooding threatened access to polling locations.

Ballot scanners malfunction in New York

In New York, election officials introduced emergency procedures after ballot-scanning machines malfunctioned across Westchester County, north of New York City.

The problem prevented machines from accepting paper ballots, although officials emphasised that voting itself had not been suspended.

Voters were instructed to complete their ballots normally and place them in secure orange emergency bags for subsequent counting.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said every vote would be counted.

“People need to know that their vote will be counted. Period,” Jenkins said in a video statement.

The New York State Board of Elections confirmed that it was working with local officials to resolve the issue and said the ballots would remain securely stored under bipartisan supervision.

Governor Kathy Hochul indicated that the thickness of the ballot paper was contributing to difficulties with the scanning equipment.

The affected area includes part of New York’s competitive 17th Congressional District, where Republican incumbent Mike Lawler is facing Democratic challenger Cait Conley.

FBI arrests suspect over letters containing white powder

Federal authorities also announced the arrest of a man suspected of sending hundreds of letters containing unidentified white powder to public officials across the United States.

The suspect was arrested in Oklahoma City early on Monday, according to Fox News, which cited a federal law enforcement source.

Investigators believe the letters were mailed during the 2024 and 2026 election cycles to more than 100 locations, including offices involved in election administration.

The man was expected to make an initial appearance before a federal court on Tuesday.

The available reports did not establish whether the substance was dangerous or whether the correspondence was connected to any coordinated attempt to interfere with voting.

Justice Department deploys election monitors across all 50 states

In a further development, the US Department of Justice announced plans to deploy approximately 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states.

The department described the initiative as the largest federal Election Day monitoring operation in its history.

According to ABC News, an official had previously told a federal court that the actual figure could be closer to 900 because of difficulties identifying and training personnel in time.

Federal election monitoring is an established practice, but the scale of this year’s operation has attracted criticism from Democrats concerned about the Trump administration’s attempts to expand federal involvement in election administration.

The Associated Press reported that voting had generally proceeded without major disruption nationwide, despite the isolated problems and concerns surrounding election security.

Supreme Court rejects Trump administration’s California ballot request

The elections also began against the backdrop of a significant legal defeat for the Trump administration.

On Monday, the US Supreme Court rejected an emergency request seeking to require California to set aside approximately 20,000 postal ballots linked to allegations that some voters might not be American citizens.

The administration had argued that authorities needed to investigate the eligibility of individuals appearing on disputed voter lists.

California officials challenged the accuracy of those lists, warning that eligible voters could be affected.

A federal judge separately ordered the administration to stop pressing election authorities to reject ballots on the basis of the disputed information.

Reuters reported that federal courts had repeatedly blocked administration efforts that judges considered an intrusion into the constitutional authority of states to administer elections.

Research and official investigations have found that voting by non-citizens is extremely rare.

The legal disputes have intensified concerns about the possibility of prolonged challenges to election results, particularly in closely contested states.

Trump has not unequivocally committed to accepting the outcome, telling reporters when asked about the results: “I will if they are honest.”

More than 57 million Americans voted early

Before polling stations opened on Tuesday, more than 57 million Americans had already cast ballots through early voting, according to figures from the University of Florida Election Lab reported by CBS News and ABC News.

The total was approaching the approximately 58 million early ballots recorded during the 2022 midterm elections, indicating strong participation in a contest widely regarded as a referendum on Trump’s presidency.

Republicans currently hold the White House and both chambers of Congress, with 53 Senate seats compared with 47 held by Democrats and independents aligned with them.

Democrats are seeking to regain control of the House of Representatives and make gains in the Senate, where several competitive races could determine the balance of power.

A Democratic victory in either chamber would complicate the administration’s legislative programme, potentially strengthening congressional oversight and opening the way for investigations into the president’s policies and officials.

The economy, inflation, the cost of living, immigration and the administration’s foreign policy have dominated much of the campaign.

When will the first results be announced?

The first polling stations are scheduled to close at 6pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, equivalent to 1am on Wednesday in Greece.

Results will begin emerging as individual states close their polling locations, although some of the most competitive contests may not be decided immediately.

The final polling stations, including those in Alaska, are scheduled to close in the early hours of Wednesday morning US time.

Election-night results are unofficial, and final certification may take days or longer as postal ballots, provisional ballots and outstanding votes are processed.

With control of Congress at stake, the results will shape the balance of political power in Washington and determine how much room Trump has to implement his agenda over the remainder of his presidency.

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Reporting sources

Updated using reporting published on 3 November 2026 by the Associated Press, Reuters, The Guardian, ABC News, CBS News and the Wall Street Journal, alongside the supplied election liveblog. The latest developments included in the article were checked against the available reporting as of approximately 8:37pm Greek time.

Key independent reporting: The Wall Street Journal+5