Voters & Voting

There were wide differences in voting preferences between men and women, whites and nonwhites, as well as people with more and less educational attainment.

Many of the millions of Americans voting in Tuesday's midterm elections will have to do so while working around the demands of their jobs – hitting their polling places before work, taking an extra-long lunch break or going afterward and hoping to make it before the polls close. As they stand in line, many of them may wonder why it is that the United States votes on a Tuesday, of all days.

Voters are more enthusiastic about voting than in any midterm election in over 20 years of Pew Research Center polling. Still, millions of Americans will not exercise their right to vote on Tuesday.

More Hispanic registered voters say they have given “quite a lot” of thought to the upcoming midterm elections compared with four years ago and are more enthusiastic to vote this year than in previous congressional elections. But they lag behind the general public on some measures of voter engagement.

With this year’s midterm elections just a week away, here are some key findings from Pew Research Center surveys over the past several months about some of the dynamics and issues shaping the battle for Congress.

Two-thirds of Americans (67%) say everything possible should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote, but Republicans – especially conservative Republicans – are less likely to hold this view, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

With a week to go before Election Day, Americans are confident their local election authorities are up to the essential tasks of making sure that elections are run smoothly and that votes are counted accurately.

About half of U.S. Latinos say the situation for Hispanics in the U.S. has worsened over the past year, and a majority say they worry that they or someone they know could be deported.

Aside from voting, relatively few people take part in other forms of political and civic participation. But a 14-country survey finds that some could be motivated to participate on issues like health care, poverty and education.

More than 29 million Latinos are eligible to vote nationwide in the 2018 midterm elections. See how the share of Latino voters varies by state and congressional district.