From WTOP’s Election Desk: Down to the wire in DC area, nationwide

Welcome back to WTOP’s election update! As the races head to the wire, our political reporters will let you know about the latest developments every Friday.

Local elections | Nick Iannelli

Next stop: Election Day

The Nov. 8 midterm elections are just a few days away, and in-person early voting, which began Oct. 27 in Maryland, is over.

In Virginia, people have been voting early in-person for over a month, and they can continue to do so through Saturday, Nov. 5.

In-person early voting in D.C. will last through Sunday, Nov. 6.

If you still plan to vote using a ballot that you received in the mail, the three jurisdictions have different deadlines that you should take note of before returning your ballot at this late stage.

Here is the information for Maryland, D.C. and Virginia.

Youngkin: Elections are secure

While some Republicans have publicly expressed skepticism over midterm votes being recorded fairly and accurately, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is telling voters to trust the process.

“Virginia’s elections are secure,” Youngkin told the Washington Examiner.

Youngkin went on to say that, “In Virginia, every ballot is cast on a paper ballot. It is kept. We do not have voting machines; we have counting machines. I went and certified them myself. Voters can trust the election in Virginia.”

Youngkin received some criticism last month for campaigning in Arizona with Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who has described the 2020 presidential election as being “stolen” and “corrupt.”

Lake has said that she would not have certified President Biden’s victory, and she has put claims of election fraud at the center of her campaign.

“We don’t agree on everything,” Youngkin said when asked about Lake’s claims.

In Md., Moore gets boost from White House

President Joe Biden will make one final push in support of Wes Moore, Maryland’s Democratic candidate for governor.

Biden plans to speak at a rally with Moore on Monday, Nov. 7 – Election Day eve.

Moore, who is facing Republican Dan Cox in the race, has received numerous endorsements from high-profile figures including Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama.

Even though Moore has a significant lead in the polls over Cox, Democrats have launched a star-studded offensive.

Some party leaders say they’re worried that down-ballot races could be hurt if Democratic-leaning voters expect a blowout in the governor’s race and stay home.

Voter registration bottleneck appears in Virginia

Local election officials in Virginia have been trying to quickly process about 150,000 voter registration applications that were abruptly sent to them last weekend by the state Department of Elections.

The applications were originally submitted by voters at Department of Motor Vehicles locations throughout the state.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” said Eric Spicer, general registrar in Fairfax County, where about 11,000 unprocessed applications came in all at once.

The Department of Elections said the problem was caused by a technical glitch within the statewide voter registration system, which also led the department to send 107,000 unprocessed voter applications to local offices last month.

Any voter who has a question about their registration status can call their local elections office or check the state Department of Elections website.

From Capitol Hill | Mitchell Miller

Midterms back to form?

Every midterm election cycle, the party in power in the White House vows to break a historical trend and retain power in the U.S. House of Representatives.

But it rarely happens.

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade this summer, Democrats held out hope that voter concern over abortion rights might keep them competitive.

But as Election Day draws closer, all indications are that Republicans will easily retake the House in a year when they only need a net gain of five seats.

That’s not surprising, since the party in power in the White House has lost House seats in eight of the past 10 midterm elections.

During Donald Trump’s term four years ago, Democrats gained 40 seats. In Barack Obama’s first term in 2010, Republicans gained 63 seats.

While inflation concerns are expected to help Republicans regain control of the House, current predictions don’t call for quite as large a seat change as in those election years. The CBS Battleground Tracker has Republicans picking up a net of 15 seats.

But the number could go higher: The Cook Political Report this week moved 10 House seats in blue states in the Republican direction.

Senate may not be decided on election night

Predicting which party will control the U.S. Senate right now is a bit like betting on whether a roulette wheel in Las Vegas will land on red or black.

Nevada voters will clearly have a role, with Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto still in a virtual dead heat with Republican Adam Laxalt.

Senate races in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania also remain extremely tight.

Republicans only need to win two of the four races to regain control of the Senate, while Democrats need to win three.

In Georgia, the race is not just between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker; there’s also a Libertarian candidate. If both Warnock and Walker fail to get 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held Dec. 6.

Due to the time needed to count mail-in ballots and other factors, the result of the Pennsylvania race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz also may not be clear on election night.

Just like in 2020, it’s very likely voters won’t know which party controls the Senate next Tuesday night.

Democrats struggle to counter GOP on inflation

Congressional Democrats have had a hard time addressing voter concerns about high inflation, even if Republicans haven’t exactly laid out any specific plans to address the issue.

In the past few weeks, Democrats have sought to suggest that Republicans are ready to come after two government programs that have broad support from retirees – Social Security and Medicare.

This week, Virginia Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger, Jennifer Wexton and Elaine Luria all spoke to reporters about their concerns that the GOP could cut into those programs.

“Americans are looking to Congress for solutions to the burdens of the budgets they’re facing right now,” Wexton said. “But meanwhile, Republicans want to kick them when they’re down, taking away crucial health care and economic benefits from over 1.5 million of Virginia’s seniors.”

Democrats have been taking aim at a proposal made by Republican Sen. Rick Scott from Florida, which would require Social Security and Medicare to be reauthorized by Congress every five years.

Scott, who leads the Republicans’ Senate campaign arm, has denied he wants to cut the programs. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has distanced himself from Scott’s plan and opposed it earlier this year.