After extensive campaigning and months of near-ubiquitous political advertising, Tuesday is finally Election Day in a midterm cycle that will determine the balance of partisan power in both Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg for at least the next two years.

As Democrats push to regain and Republicans fight to hold a majority in Congress for the last half of the second Trump administration, Northeast Pennsylvania voters will cast midterm ballots in either the 8th Congressional District race between Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, or the 9th Congressional District race between Democratic challenger Rachel Wallace and incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser.

Those and other House races across Pennsylvania and the nation come as Republicans cling to a razor-thin majority in the lower chamber currently comprising 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Republicans, with two seats vacant. It’s a fragile majority that’s very much in jeopardy, with a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report noting the GOP’s “path to keeping control of the House has all but evaporated.”

The race forecaster subsequently shifted a dozen more House races toward Democrats — including Pennsylvania’s 8th District race it long considered a toss-up — and now projects Democrats will flip 12 to 25 House seats, far more than the party needs to take back majority control of the chamber. The Cook Political Report’s Friday update moved the Bresnahan/Cognetti race from a toss-up to leaning Democratic; races that lean one way or the other are considered competitive but with one party having an advantage.

Traders on the prediction market Kalshi gave Democrats a roughly 94% chance of winning the House as of about noon Monday. They also gave Democrats a roughly 74% chance of winning control of the U.S. Senate, a more ambitious goal that will require a net gain of four seats. While key Senate races are playing out in Texas, Maine, Alaska, Kansas and other battlegrounds, neither of Pennsylvania’s two U.S. Senate seats are on the ballot this cycle.

All even-numbered state Senate districts are, however, including the 20th, 22nd and 40th districts in the northeast region. Those seats are held by incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Baker, incumbent Democratic Sen. Marty Flynn and incumbent Republican Sen. Rosemary Brown, who face challenges from Democrat Jackie Baker, Republican Sharon Soltis Sparano and Democrat Brian Wrightson, respectively.

While Democrats took majority control of the state House in 2022 and held that narrow majority in 2024, Republicans have controlled the state Senate for decades and currently outnumber Democrats in that chamber 27 to 23. With 25 of the state Senate’s 50 seats on the ballot Tuesday, Democrats see an opportunity to gain a long-elusive Senate majority and potentially achieve a coveted trifecta in Harrisburg.

That would also require Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro winning reelection — polls show him heavily favored in his gubernatorial race with GOP state Treasurer Stacy Garrity — and Democrats maintaining their state House majority Tuesday when all 203 seats in the General Assembly’s lower chamber are up for grabs. If Shapiro’s ticket prevails and Democrats are able to achieve at least a 25-25 split with Republicans in the state Senate, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis would represent the tiebreaking vote for Democrats on procedural matters there.

A Democratic trifecta in Harrisburg would make more realistic the prospect of Shapiro and his party achieving some of their more ambitious and progressive policy goals.

“This November, we have a real opportunity to do something that Pennsylvania has not been able to do since 1992 — win a Democratic trifecta in Harrisburg,” Shapiro said in a mid-October news release. “With a Democratic trifecta, we can finally raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, build more affordable housing, codify abortion rights into law, pass statute of limitations reforms that are long overdue, and so much more.”

Republicans could stymie those goals by holding the state Senate, taking back control of the state House or wresting the governorship from Shapiro, who’s consistently maintained a double-digit lead over Garrity in polling. State House Democrats currently maintain a three-seat majority in the lower chamber, 103-100, meaning Republicans need a net gain of two seats to take back control.

Here’s what else voters should know as they head to the polls:

Voting hours

Midterm election polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., but voters still waiting in line at 8 have a right to cast their ballots.

Those who plan to vote in person will do so after checking in at their polling place.

Only first-time voters or those voting for the first time at a new precinct will have to show identification. Approved forms of identification include a Pennsylvania driver’s license or ID issued by the state Department of Transportation, IDs issued by any other state agency or by the federal government, a U.S. passport or armed forces ID, a student or employee ID, a firearm permit, a voter registration card or a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check.

Anyone who experiences issues at the polls should immediately call their county’s elections department. The Pennsylvania Department of State also maintains an official voter hotline, 1-877-868-3772, for voters who experience problems.

Drop boxes

In Lackawanna County, only one mail-in ballot drop box is available on Election Day and it’s located inside the entrance of the county government center in downtown Scranton.

Voters can access the government center drop box until 8 p.m., when the polls close, and can also hand-deliver their completed mail-in ballot to the county elections department if they’d rather not use the secure receptacle. The department’s office is located on the second floor of the government center, 123 Wyoming Ave.

In Luzerne County, drop boxes at the county’s Penn Place Building in Wilkes-Barre will be available Tuesday until 8 p.m. Those drop boxes are located in the Penn Place lobby and the county election bureau office at Penn Place, 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave. The Penn Place building will be closed to the public with the exception of the election bureau, but voters will still be able to return their ballots until 8 p.m.

A comprehensive list of mail-in ballot return locations by county and contact numbers for county election offices are available online via pa.gov/agencies/vote.

County elections departments must receive mail-in ballots by 8 p.m. Tuesday for those ballots to be counted. By law, voters may return only their own ballot.

Weather

Voters casting ballots Tuesday can expect a dry, mostly sunny day across the region, AccuWeather meteorologist Alyssa Glenny said.

She forecasted afternoon high temperatures approaching the upper 60s to about 70 degrees, with peak temperatures expected between 2 and 4 p.m.