Polls open in US midterm elections

Voters are headed to the polls to vote in the US midterm congressional and gubernatorial elections. 

The highly anticipated race will determine whether Democrats can win enough seats in Congress to wrestle control of at least one of the two chambers, which are currently both controlled by Republicans.

Polls start closing at 6pm in Kentucky and 7pm in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia. 

Another wave of results will come in after 7:30 pm from North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. Texas, New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania will give show theirs after 8pm and 9pm. 

The 11pm batch of states includes California, home to several competitive congressional races. Alaska, where polls close at 1am Wednesday, will end the night.

How does it look?

For almost two years, Trump's rule-breaking, sometimes chaotic administration has enjoyed a largely free hand from the twin Republican-controlled chambers, but the midterms could finally see his wings clipped.

The entire 435-member House of Representatives and just over a third of the 100-seat Senate are up for grabs.

According to nearly all pollsters, the Democrats have a good chance of winning the House, while the Republicans are likely to retain the Senate.

But with turnout a key unknown factor and pollsters still unsure about the effect of Trump's maverick style on voters, both parties admit that they may be in for nasty surprises.

Much of America has already voted. Based on reports from 49 states, through Monday, at least 36.4 million people voted in the midterms before Election Day. And in a sign of the growing influence of early voting, 30 states reported exceeding their total number of mail and in-person votes cast ahead of the 2014 midterm elections.

Some states have already dealt with voting problems. Voters casting ballots early have encountered faulty machines in Texas and North Carolina, inaccurate mailers in Missouri and Montana, and voter registration problems in Tennessee and Georgia. In other states, including Kansas, Election Day polling places have been closed or consolidated.