Federal and state legislative races, the makeup of county boards of commissioners and school boards, judges and district attorneys, and constitutional changes will be determined by the voters of North Carolina today.

Here is everything you need to know about this year’s midterm election. 

Let’s start with how to vote!

  • Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. Look up your polling station here. If you are in line when the polls close, you can still vote. 
  • If you need a ride to the polls, GoRaleigh and GoDurham buses will take you there for free. 
  • Preview your ballot here. Wake County alone has more than ninety-five different ballots, so know what races you’ll be seeing ahead of time.
  • Don’t know who is on your ballot? Check out the INDY’s candidate questionnaires here and our endorsements for federal and state legislative races and Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties.
  • While it’s too late to register to vote, registered voters who requested and received absentee ballots but haven’t turned them in yet can hand deliver them to their county board of elections, or just vote in-person instead.
  • If this is your first time voting in a North Carolina election, you may be asked to show some form of current and valid photo ID. Otherwise, you can bring a document with your name and address on it such as utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document.

Early voting and absentee ballot counts are already well underway. The state has already seen over two million ballots cast through early voting, absentee ballots, and military voting.

Early voting turnout ahead of Tuesday’s election surpassed early voting turnout during the last midterm election in 2014 by 74 percent, according to the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement.

While we’ll have to wait until the polls close to see if there was, in fact, a blue wave, early voting statistics show Democrats have cast more ballots than Republicans statewide.

Democrats cast about 43 percent of ballots, Republicans about 30 percent and unaffiliated voters about 27 percent. Democrats also saw the highest turnout of registered voters, although the margins were slimmer in that regard.

White people case about 71 percent of ballots, and women cast about 54 percent of ballots. Baby boomers have made up the largest share of ballots cast.

Overall, turnout during early voting was 28 percent—compared with 18 percent in 2014.

One Durham precinct bounded by N.C. 55, Interstate 40, and Southpoint Mall saw 49 percent of its voters turn out—the highest of any precinct in the state.

The News & Observer reports that Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties all saw double-digit increases in the percentage of voters who cast ballots early compared to 2014, with Durham experiencing the largest increase from about 17 to percent to 32 percent turnout.

In addition to legislative, congressional and statewide judicial races, Durham County voters are also making their picks for District and Superior Court judges. There are two contested District Court races—incumbent Fred Battaglia against civil rights attorney Dave Hall and incumbent Jim Hill against assistant district attorney Clayton Jones. Senior assistant public defender Dawn Baxton faces assistant district attorney Josephine Kerr Davis for a vacant Superior Court seat. Regardless of Tuesday’s results, at least four of seven District Court judges in Durham will be black—six of seven if both incumbents lose. For Superior Court, two of four judges will be black.

That’s significant in a county placing equity at the center of just about every issue—from criminal justice to tree canopy to development—and where the district attorney, sheriff-elect, police chief and a majority of the city council are also people of color.

In Wake County, Sheriff Donnie Harrison—a supporter of the controversial 287(g) program that partners local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities and can lead to local undocumented immigrants being deported following minor traffic violations—faces challenger Gerald Butler, who has vowed to end the program if elected.

High voter turnout could favor Democrats in the second house district race for the United States House of Representatives, which pits incumbent George Holding against Democrat Linda Coleman. U.S. House District Four Democrat David Price faces challengers Barbara Howe, a libertarian, and Steve A. (Von) Loor, a Republican. Price is heavily favored. 

This year’s ballot also contains six constitutional amendments, including Marsy’s Law, and, in Wake County, about $1 billion in bonds—a $548 million school construction bond, a $349 Wake Tech Community College bond, and  $120 parks, greenways, and open space bond. All Wake County commissioners are up for election as well, as is the district attorney and clerk of Superior Court. 

Despite a water shortage in Orange County following a main break, the county says there will be no disruptions to voting and polls will be open regular hours. Impacted polling sites will be equipped with portable toilets.

Finally, if you see anything sketchy at the polls—people being turned away or possible voter fraud—you can report election issues to the U.S. Department of Justice here, the state elections board here, or ElectionLand, a ProPublica initiative.