Opinion: How to follow the election, in eight steps

Including a handy tip sheet for Congress, state races and the big ballot initiatives. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, November 6, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist 1. Vote. Politics is a participation sport, not a spectator sport. If you haven’t yet voted, don’t make yourself a vague promise that you’ll do so at some point today. Come up with a specific plan right now, including where and when you will vote today. 2. Ignore the noise. You’re going to hear rumors today — about long lines, no lines, bad weather, good weather and exit polls. Ignore the rumors, especially any about exit polls. Just ask [President John Kerry](. 3. Be prepared. Rather than spending the afternoon reading rumors on social media, go for a walk or a bike ride. Or read a book. Or get some work done. And if you absolutely must think about politics, study up on the big races tonight. Daniel Nichanian, a political scientist, has put together a handy tip sheet listing the most important elections and ballot initiatives. You can [print your own version]( or follow along as Nichanian updates [an online version](. 4. The early results. The polls will close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m.Eastern, which will offer early clues about the Democrats’ chance to retake the House. The challenger in Kentucky’s sixth district is Amy McGrath, who burst on the scene with [one of my favorite ads this year](. Her race is a tossup. Democrats don’t need it to retake the House, but they need to win it or some similar races. 5. The governors’ races. Democrats are expecting to make big gains in governor’s offices tonight. “If the election goes as expected, the GOP’s grip on policy at the state level is likely to be severely weakened,” [Perry Bacon Jr. writes]( in FiveThirtyEight’s governors’ preview. Two closely watched races are in Georgia and Florida, where most polls close at 7 p.m. State legislatures matter too, and [Alan Greenblatt of Governing magazine]( has an overview. 6. The main events. Democrats are favored to retake the House, and Republicans are favored to hold the Senate. But any combination of congressional control is possible. The best place to watch the results will be the dashboards created by my colleagues from The Times newsroom. They’ll be analyzing the returns and producing geographically adjusted results that are much more meaningful than the raw vote counts that still dominate television coverage. You’ll be able to find these dashboards linked from The Times’s home page, on both mobile and desktop. And, yes, [the needle will be back](. Twitter is also a good way to get real-time analysis. I recommend the feeds of [Nate Cohn]( [Jonathan Martin]( [Dave Wasserman]( [Amy Walter]( [Nate Silver]( [Rachel Bitecofer]( [Harry Enten]( and [Kyle Kondik](. 7. The other big elections. There is a chance that congressional control will be fairly clear by 9 p.m or 10 p.m. Eastern. But it’s more likely to remain uncertain. In that case, rather than checking on the needle every 60 seconds, you may want to look back at some of the major ballot initiatives, which cover voting rights, health care, criminal justice and more. Floridians will be voting on whether to restore voting rights to 1.5 million people who have been convicted of felonies. It’s the most important voting-rights initiative in years. And it’s one of at least 15 voting-rights initiatives on the ballot across the country. [Wendy Weiser and Max Feldman of the Brennan Center]( have an overview. On health care, three conservative states — Idaho, Nebraska and Utah — are voting on whether to expand Medicaid, and a fourth — Montana — is deciding on whether to continue its expansion, [Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News]( explains. On criminal justice, multiple states are considering reforms, as [The Appeal details](. 8. Get some sleep. If the race for House or Senate is close, it may extend late into the night — or into tomorrow and beyond, as ballots are counted in California and elsewhere. So I encourage you to turn off your phone and television at some point and go to bed. As I wrote [in my column this week]( American democracy is being challenged in ways I never expected. The one silver lining is that many people are responding by getting involved. There will still be much more to do starting Wednesday, whatever the election results. Today is a very big deal. But it’s not the end of the story. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including a huge amount of election coverage. [One Wave, Two Waves, Red Wave, Blue Wave]( [If they win the House, will Democrats fight back the right way?]( If they win the House, will Democrats fight back the right way? Erin Schaff for The New York Times By GAIL COLLINS AND BRET STEPHENS Who ever thought midterm elections could be this exciting? From Our Columnists [Last Exit Off the Road to Autocracy]( By PAUL KRUGMAN Taxes and health care aren’t the only things on the ballot. [The Women’s Revolt]( By MICHELLE GOLDBERG Can the Resistance save America on Tuesday? [The Central Challenge of the Age]( By DAVID BROOKS Do Democrats know what unites us? [James Comey: Let’s Vote to Uphold Our Nation’s Values]( Brian Snyder/Reuters By JAMES COMEY The lying, misogyny, racism and attacks on the rule of law from our president are awakening the vast middle of American politics. [Riled Up and Ready to Vote]( By RACHEL L. HARRIS AND LISA TARCHAK Young voters discuss the issues motivating them this year. [How the Midterms Are Making Us Feel]( By THE NEW YORK TIMES OPINION The midterm election has been divisive and difficult for many Americans. Now that it’s coming to an end, how do we feel? This live map shows reactions from readers across the country through Election Day. [Why Americans Don’t Vote (and What to Do About It)]( If Didn’t Vote had been a candidate in the 2016 election, it would have won by a landslide. [Voting in New York and New Jersey? Let Us Help]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The New York Times endorsements for the 2018 midterm elections. Listen to [“The Argument” podcast]( every Thursday morning, with Ross Douthat, Michelle Goldberg and David Leonhardt. ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. Americans Head to the Polls [Backlash From 2008 Is on the Ballot in 2018]( By RON SUSKIND In Obama’s era, democracy done in good faith struggled. For his demagoguing opponents, that remains the whole point. [Mitt Romney Goes to Washington After All]( By DAVID F. HOLLAND The soon-to-be senator from Utah will have to decide when and how to make common cause with Donald Trump. [When Domestic Workers Rose Up in Atlanta]( By TERA W. HUNTER More than 100 years ago, black domestic workers in Georgia organized for better pay. Now they’re getting out the vote for Stacey Abrams. [Will Harping on Immigration Do What Trump Wants It to Do?]( By JOHN SIDES, MICHAEL TESLER AND LYNN VAVRECK The president’s unrelenting focus on migrants may prove ineffective because voters have already sorted themselves out along partisan lines. [What America Owes Frederick Douglass]( By DAVID W. BLIGHT He said black people had three tools: their voice, their pen and their vote. Today all three are under threat. [Is Steve King’s Bigoted Act Wearing Thin?]( By ART CULLEN A Democrat is giving the eight-term Republican in Northwest Iowa a run for his money. [It’s Time for Online Voting]( By ALEX TAPSCOTT Using blockchain technology, online voting could boost voter participation and help restore the public’s trust in the electoral process and democracy. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [The Beginning of the End for Poland’s Populists?]( By SLAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI After years in power, the Law and Justice party lost big in recent mayoral elections. More in Opinion [Artificial Intelligence Hits the Barrier of Meaning]( By MELANIE MITCHELL Machine learning algorithms don’t yet understand things the way humans do — with sometimes disastrous consequences. OP-Art [I Want You to Remember]( By LEAH GOREN An illustrated account of my grandmother’s escape from Lithuania as Europe was heading toward the Holocaust. Fixes [Melt Thy Rifles Into Garden Tools]( By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN A Mennonite blacksmith, following his beliefs, seeks a path to reducing the impact of gun violence in America. [End Yemen’s Agony]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Stop the bombing and start a large-scale relief effort. We’ve got more newsletters! You might like Frank Bruni’s newsletter.  Go beyond the headlines and behind the curtain with Frank Bruni’s candid reflections on politics, culture, higher education and more every week. [Sign up for Frank Bruni’s email.](  ADVERTISEMENT letters [Debating the Best Way to Teach a Child to Read]( Are kids are being taught “the wrong way,” as an Op-Ed writer opined? Readers discuss different approaches such as phonics and recall how they learned to read. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018