A long line of people weaves through campus at the ASU Palo Verde West polling station during the US midterm elections in Tempe, Arizona, US, November 6, 2018.
Voters often sit out the midterms, but this time, they stood up.
Time magazine called it "A High Water Mark for Midterm Turnout.' 2018 Could Be a Historic Election for Voter Participation."
According to estimates by The New York Times, approximately 114 million votes were cast in US House races in 2018. That's compared to 83 million in 2014.
Many describe this year's midterms as a surging, possibly record, turnout in the United States.
Snaking queues and long average wait times were reported as Americans voted on Tuesday for state governors, Senate seats and seats in the House of Representatives.
People wait in line to vote at a polling station on the last day of early voting in Texas in the 2018 midterm elections in Dallas, Texas, US, November 2, 2018.
And on the streets, there was a palpable buzz.
"We have already seen huge turnout, people out and about knocking on doors, making sure everybody gets out there, but I think turnout will be very, very high," California's Democratic candidate Katie Porter said.
A voter gets directions from a volunteer before voting in the midterm election in Helena, Montana, US, November 6, 2018.
On the other side of the country, in Atlanta, Georgia, voters waited in line for nearly two hours to cast ballots, according to local media reports.
At a polling station in Arlington, Virginia, head election officer William Harkins said "it's a very good turnout."
Trump himself noted the energy as he wrapped up a punishing schedule of rallies around the country that were intended to boost Republican candidates and his own brand heading towards reelection in 2020.
"The midterm elections used to be, like, boring," Trump told a crowd in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday. "Now it's like the hottest thing."
Darby Dunlop, left and Zoe Stein of NextGen America write a message that both Republican US Senate candidate Martha McSally and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey are endorsed by Donald Trump, during the US midterm elections in Tempe, Arizona, US November 6, 2018.
The Democratic gains were fueled by women, young and Hispanic voters, a Reuters/Ipsos Election Day poll found.
Fifty-five percent of women said they backed a Democrat for the House this year, compared to 49 percent in the 2014 midterm congressional election.
Voters between the ages of 18 and 34 backed Democrats by 62 percent to 34 percent, up from 2014 when 54 percent backed Democrats and 36 percent supported Republicans.
Hispanic voters favored Democratic House candidates by 33 percentage points - higher than the 18-percentage point gap that Democrats enjoyed in 2014, the poll found.
Democrats turned out to register disapproval of Trump's divisive rhetoric and policies on such issues as immigration and his travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries.
But clearly, the president also has a solid base of supporters, especially in rural areas as evident in the Senate where Republicans increased their majority.
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