Here’s what you need to know to get out your vote on Election Day

If you waited until today to vote in this year’s hotly contested midterm elections, it’s finally time. But we all could be waiting longer to learn the fate of some of California’s most hotly contested races — and the big question hanging over the 2018 election: Will Democrats take control of Congress?

Here’s what you need to know about where and when to cast your ballot and what to pay attention to as you break out the popcorn to watch results roll in tonight. When do the polls open and close? Polling places are open statewide from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. As long as you’re standing in line at your polling place at 8 p.m., you will be allowed to vote. Where do I find my polling place? Enter the address where you’re registered to vote at www. sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place to get your polling place location. Don’t assume you’ll vote in the same place you have in the past.

If you still have your absentee ballot, you can mail it in as long as it’s postmarked on Election Day and received by your county elections office by Friday. (You don’t need to put a stamp on it.) Or you can hand-deliver the ballot to any polling place in your county before 8 p.m. What races should I pay attention to? The marquee con-

tests this year are for a halfdozen House seats in the Central Valley and Southern California. The races, which are some of the most competitive and most expensive House face-offs in the country, could determine which party captures the House.

In statewide races, voters will choose a new governor, with Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom leading every poll over Republican businessman John Cox. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is running for re-election and is favored over fellow Democrat state Sen. Kevin de León, who is challenging her from the left. Lower on the ballot are important fights for state schools chief and insurance commissioner. And among California’s propositions, the hottest contests have been over repealing the recent gas tax increase (Proposition 6), easing restrictions on rent control (Prop. 10) and an obscure but eye-poppingly expensive measure to cap the profits of dialysis clinics (Prop. 8).

Around the Bay Area, voters will decide on municipal and school board measures, as well as a closely watched “head tax” on businesses in Mountain View and a proposition to tax businesses to fund homeless services in San Francisco. What do the early voting numbers tell us? More than 3.67 million Californians had mailed in their ballots as of Sunday, according to a count from respected state political firm Political Data Inc. So far, we’re seeing notably higher early voting turnout over 2014 — the last midterm election — in the half-dozen most competitive congressional districts, but similar turnout to 2014 elsewhere in the state, said Paul Mitchell, the vice president of PDI. In several Orange County races, notably the 45th and 48th districts, the early voting turnout is approaching that of the 2016 presidential election. And in the last few days of early voting, the percentage of younger voters returning ballots has increased, Mitchell noted.

You can check out all the data yourself with a handy app made public by PDI that tracks ballots returned both statewide and in specific congressional districts. But it’s important to keep in mind that early voting isn’t an accurate way to predict the results of any election.

Even though the data show the party of voters who returned their ballots, they don’t tell us whom those voters supported. And there’s no way to say whether the voters returning their ballots early are people who would have voted on Election Day anyway.

One thing to keep in mind: Republican voters are typically older and more likely to vote early, while Democratic voters are more likely to vote on Election Day.

The first results reported tonight will be based on early voting, and Mitchell said those percentages could be the “high water mark” for Republicans,

with Democrats gaining ground as the Election Day returns filter in through the night and after. How long should I stay

up tonight? It might not be worth pulling an allnighter: In many of California’s closest races, it could take days or even weeks before we know the final results.

That’s because so many Californians vote by mail these days, and county registrars of voters have to count millions of mail ballots. The state also allows ballots to be counted that are mailed on Election Day and arrive at a registrar by Friday.

During the June primary, it took two weeks and five days to declare the winners in one close Orange County congressional race.

Political strategists are already sweating over scenarios where control of the House of Representatives hangs on a handful of excruciatingly close Golden State races. In that case, former Bay Area Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher warned in a blog post this weekend, California could become “Palm Beach 2.0,” with President Donald Trump pushing a “fake narrative of voter fraud, 280 characters at a time, to delegitimize the election and Democrats’ potential control of the House.”

In any case, barring unexpected blowouts by either side, get ready to wait before we know whether a blue wave reaches California’s shores.