election day

Voter turnout on Tuesday was massive: More than 47 percent of the voting-eligible population cast a ballot in the midterm elections on Tuesday, according to early estimates from the United States Election Project.

"Almost half of possible voters actually voted" might not sound impressive. But for a U.S. midterm election, it's a whopping figure. Compare that with just 36.7 percent in 2014, and 41 percent in 2010.

That's the highest turnout for a midterm since 1966, when 49 percent of the population showed up to vote.

There are a lot of different ways to read the results from elections across the country Tuesday.

There will be lots of spin in the coming days about what it all means, but here are seven ways to cut through the noise and put what happened in context:

1. It was a Democratic wave in the House, and that is a very big deal.

There's a lot that can happen Tuesday, the culmination of a long midterm election campaign that will provide the first nationwide measure of the U.S. electorate since Donald Trump was elected president.

There are dozens of competitive races across the country that will determine control of the House, Senate and governors' seats. Democrats need to pick up 23 seats to take back the House, Democrats need a net gain of two seats to flip the Senate and Democrats are expected to slice into Republicans' 33-16 advantage in governors' seats.

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET

In the final days ahead of potentially pivotal midterm elections, activists are working to get voters to the polls who ordinarily might not show up when the presidency doesn't hang in the balance.

Donors have poured millions of dollars into efforts to turn out more African-Americans, Hispanics and young people for the 2018 elections.

With early voting under way in many states, there are signs that these efforts may be paying off.

The cemetery where women's suffrage activist Susan B. Anthony is buried extended its hours Tuesday "to accommodate those wishing to celebrate their vote" at her gravesite.

Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y., will be open until polls there close at 9 p.m. ET.

Although this presidential election is the first in American history to have a woman on the ballot as a major party candidate, it is not the first time people have commemorated their votes by visiting Anthony's grave.

The rallies and debates, the tweets and the fundraisers, the wearying last-minute swings through the same half-dozen or so battleground states — all that is winding down at last.

Today it was time for the two major presidential candidates to perform the Election Day ritual of casting their own votes, just like average Joes, except for the fact that average Joes aren't usually trailed by dozens of reporters and TV cameras.

Traditionally, the media puts coverage of political polls on hold on Election Day, and only begins reporting on exit polls after the polls have closed. This year, though, a number of newer outlets are planning to cover projections throughout the day.

Votecastr, a partnership between Slate and Vice News, will provide coverage of the race in part by tracking the number of people who have voted at particular polling stations.