HENRICO, Va. (Diya TV) — Early voting began Friday for the 2026 midterm elections, opening a six-week period in which voters will determine control of Congress and decide state and local races nationwide.

Virginia opened early in-person voting, while Minnesota, South Dakota and several other states began allowing voters to submit absentee ballots in person. More states will open early-voting locations in the coming weeks. Election Day is Nov. 3.

In Fairfax, Virginia, 18-year-old college student Sanya Singhal arrived before her polling location opened and became one of its first voters.

Voters also lined up at a polling site in suburban Richmond. Stephen Gura said he voted for Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Shannon Taylor, the Democrat challenging Republican Rep. Rob Wittman in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District.

William Curry, a 74-year-old retiree who described himself as a libertarian-leaning independent conservative, backed Warner’s Republican challenger, Bert Mizusawa, and voted for Wittman.

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 67-year-old Bill Goehring cast his ballot early because he expects to travel closer to Election Day. He said he voted for a combination of Democratic and independent candidates.

The election will determine whether Republicans retain control of the House and Senate. Voters will also decide gubernatorial, legislative and local races across the country.

Voting began amid disputes over election administration. The Supreme Court recently rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to impose new restrictions on mail ballots before the midterms, allowing states to continue using their existing procedures.

Voters will also cast ballots under congressional maps that changed after a wave of mid-decade redistricting. A Protect Democracy report found that nearly 35 million Americans—about one-tenth of the population—now live in congressional districts different from those used in 2024.

Election officials said they are prepared to administer the vote securely and accurately. They encouraged voters using mail ballots to return them early and advised all voters to confirm registration information, polling locations and deadlines with their state election offices.