Voters across the United States headed to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the 2026 midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake and the country deeply divided politically. Photographers from NPR member stations documented the day in their communities, capturing everything from lines at polling stations to the anticipation and reactions as results began to come in.
Polling places took many forms. In Chicago, voters filled out their ballots at the McKinley Park Library. In St. Louis, residents of the Shaw neighborhood voted at Wild Carrot, an event space converted for the day. In Austin, Texas, voters waited in line at University Presbyterian Church, while in Boston a sign reading "VOTE HERE" marked the entrance to the voting station at the Lyon Upper School in the Allston neighborhood.
In Fairfax, Va., an election official taped "VOTE" signs to a wall inside the Fairfax County Government Center to guide voters to the polling room. Nearby in Herndon, Va., 5-year-old Tyler Prehn slipped his father's ballot into the tabulating machine at Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School while his 3-year-old brother, Levi, watched.
Some precincts offered a bit of comfort alongside civic duty. In Des Moines, Iowa, Diane Mitchell handed out Dutch Deli sandwiches and cookies from a food truck serving voters.
In Minneapolis, the day carried a heavier meaning for some. Peg Ihinger photographed her early voting sticker after leaving it at a memorial for Alex Pretti. "I just want this nightmare to end for our city and our country," Ihinger said. "And damn it, they shouldn't have died." Pretti and Renée Good, both 37 and residents of Minneapolis, were killed in separate incidents involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during the Trump administration's Operation Metro Surge in January.
Signs of a tense political climate appeared elsewhere as well. In Washington, D.C.'s Columbia Heights neighborhood, the words "NATL GUARD 50 FT BACK" were marked on a sidewalk.
More routine scenes of democracy played out across the country. Voters dropped off ballots outside the City Hall Voting Center in San Francisco. In Hartford, Conn., a large "VOTE" sign hung from a balcony outside City Hall, and at Manchester High School in Manchester, Conn., a voter collected an "I Voted" sticker after casting a ballot. In Hastings, Minn., voters used electronic voting stations at a polling place inside City Hall.
As polls closed in communities large and small, attention turned to counting ballots and to the results that will determine which party controls Congress for the remainder of President Trump's term. NPR station photographers continued to document the evening as reactions unfolded. NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews; anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR.
