America votes in Laundromats, Schools, Libraries

Americans were voting Tuesday in a key election that will decide whether Republicans end the Democratic Party’s hold on Washington and take back the House and Senate.

The balloting marks the first major national elections since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June to end constitutional protection of abortion rights. All 435 seats in the narrowly held House and one-third of the evenly divided Senate are being decided.

Emotions were raw as people stood outside libraries, fitness centers, laundromats and fire stations to begin casting ballots. From Lewiston, Maine, to rainy Pacoima, California, they held infants in their arms and wore uniforms, suits and workout clothes as they waited to vote. Many said inflation, abortion, crime and the future of democracy weighed heavily on their minds.