[Anchor]

The U.S. midterm elections, which could shape the direction of President Trump's remaining two years in office, have just begun. This election will determine whether the Republican Party, which currently holds the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, will maintain its advantage, or if the Democratic Party will recapture congressional power to check the administration. Let's connect to the local scene where voting has started.

Correspondent Kim Hyunwoo, which polling station are you currently at?

[Reporter]

Yes, I am currently stationed at a polling station in New Jersey, near New York.

It has just past 8 a.m. here, and voting began two hours ago at 6 a.m.

Unlike South Korea, Election Day is not a public holiday in the U.S. As a result, people rushed to vote before heading to work, making the area in front of the polling station quite crowded from early in the morning.

Currently, the U.S. Congress is controlled by the ruling Republican Party in both chambers. In this midterm election, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 out of the 100 senators are up for election.

This is a critical election that could alter the power landscape of Congress.

[Anchor]

There is reportedly intense interest in these midterm elections. What is the local atmosphere like?

[Reporter]

Yes, the enthusiasm is palpable just by looking at early voting numbers.

More than 56 million people participated, setting a record-high turnout for a midterm election.

In particular, the participation rate of registered Democrats was tallied at over 10 percentage points higher than that of Republicans.

Acting as an interim evaluation of the current administration, the economy is cited as the core variable that will decide the outcome.

Let's listen to what the voters have to say.

[Phil Reilly / New Jersey: Interest rates are high and inflation is high. The economy is very unstable.]

[Chris / New Jersey: Inflation is the most important thing. Like everyone else, it is really hard to afford the cost of living these days. I don't expect anyone to fix it completely, but I hope they can at least try to make things better than they are now.]

[Anchor]

When can we expect the election results to come out?

[Reporter]

As you know, the U.S. has different time zones by region, and voting methods and closing times also vary, so counting the votes takes quite a bit of time.

Voting will close first in Indiana and Kentucky at 8 a.m. tomorrow, Korean time (November 4), and will conclude last in western Alaska around 3 p.m.

Outlines of the election results are expected to emerge as early as tomorrow afternoon.

However, since it took a week to determine the House majority four years ago, the final results could be delayed depending on the vote-counting status in battleground districts.

(Camera: Lee Hee-hoon | Video Editing: Jung Yong-hwa)