Midterm Elections, Donald Trump, Amazon: Your Tuesday Briefing - New York Times

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Good morning.

Here's what you need to know:

In midterm elections that are widely seen as a referendum on President Trump's tenure, a deeply polarized electorate will choose a new House, one-third of the Senate, and governors in states that will be crucial to the 2020 presidential campaign. Here's the latest.

Democrats would need to pick up 23 seats to gain control of the House, and they appear to have the advantage. Republicans are confident that they will maintain a majority in the Senate.

Mr. Trump held final campaign rallies on Monday in the Midwest, and former President Barack Obama was in Virginia. Our reporters covered the events.

• Voter guide: How, when and where to cast your ballot. We also explain six types of misinformation to be aware of on Election Day.

• The results: The first polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern. Here are the races to watch, hour by hour.

• TV stars: Three network anchors talked to The Times about the real heroes tonight: their interactive screens.

• At The Times: We've removed our paywall for the elections. Register or log in to nytimes.com for unlimited access.

After a yearlong search, Amazon is planning to split its second headquarters between two locations: Long Island City in Queens, and the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Va., across the Potomac River from Washington.

People familiar with the decision-making process told The Times about the surprise move, which would allow the company to tap into the talent pools of two different regions.

• The effects: The decision could establish New York City as a technology hub on a par with its West Coast rivals. But some residents worry about the effects so many newcomers would have on a neighborhood that's already straining from rapid growth.

"To understand why the far right is on the march again in Germany, it helps to understand the many grievances of its most loyal supporters: men in the former Communist East."

Our Berlin bureau chief writes about the emergence of "Eastern Man," a disruptive political force that is a legacy of Chancellor Angela Merkel's 13 years in power.

The Berlin Wall fell 29 years ago, but living standards in the East are still lower than those in the West. That resentment was stoked by the arrival of more than a million asylum seekers in Germany in 2015.

• Voices: "I didn't risk my skin back then to become a third-class citizen," said one East German man. "First there are western Germans, then there are asylum seekers, then it's us."

• Best of late-night TV

The comedy hosts mostly joked about today's elections. "In America's ongoing bitter divorce, the big question is: Who's getting the House?" Stephen Colbert asked.

• Quotation of the day

"First they came looking specifically for my wife. Then they knew we had college-age daughters. Then they came for me."

— Gerry White, a professor in College Park, Ga., whose home received three visits from Democratic volunteers encouraging his family to vote in the tight governor's race.

• The Times, in other words

Here's an image of today's front page, and links to our Opinion content and crossword puzzles.

• What we're reading

Alan Henry, a Smarter Living editor, recommends this piece from Engadget: "There's a lot to learn from spending a day with a 'master smeller' — not just about her, but also about how deodorized our society has become. Our sense of smell has been, in many ways, left behind as we communicate more with our eyes and ears."

Inspired by today's elections, we're looking at how newspapers published results in the past.

For the 1896 presidential election between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan, there was an intense competition among newspapers to provide results to the crowds gathered outside their offices.

For the presidential election of 1904, The Times aimed a spotlight in different directions to indicate results.CreditThe New York Times

In New York, The Tribune built a display of lights, alternating green and red with different numbers of white lights to signal each state's result. The paper first tried to send the display aloft on a kite, but the wind weakened, so the display was instead hung on the spire of the building.

The World projected enormous bulletins over nearly its entire 20-story building across from City Hall, and The Herald shined a beacon from atop its building.

At The Times, the new owner, Adolph Ochs, thought his paper's own efforts — projections on two screens in town — fell short.

So when Mr. Ochs commissioned a new building in what would be renamed Times Square, he insisted that a searchlight be installed at the top. When the tower opened, just before the 1904 election, it was the city's second tallest. That night, and for election nights almost until the building was sold in 1961, a needle of light pointed out the winners.

Albert Sun wrote today's Back Story.

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