Midterm elections live updates: Justice Department asks SCOTUS to block CA from counting disputed ballots

Vice President JD Vance on Monday delivered his closing midterm election remarks in his home state of Ohio, where his political career began and where some of the most critical races are being decided, emphasizing the importance of this year's election cycle.

"I want to remind you that we are on the eve of one of the most important -- I would actually say the most important midterm election of my lifetime -- and I am closing out this midterm campaign right where it all started for me, the great state of Ohio, because I know you're going to choose right tomorrow," Vance said.

The state is home to high-stakes Senate and House races that could determine control of Congress. Also the state's gubernatorial election has drawn nationwide interest.

Vance urged Ohioans to cast their ballots on Tuesday for Republican Senate candidate Jon Husted and Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

"The only game in town for low taxes, for common sense and for patriotic American values, it's Vivek's party. It's John's party. It's the Republican Party. And don't forget it tomorrow,” Vance said.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

As Americans prepare to vote in Tuesday's midterm elections, rising healthcare costs are among the top financial and economic concerns, according to recent polling.

A quarter of voters say they are "very worried" about being able to afford healthcare costs and more than one-third say they are "somewhat worried," according to a KFF poll earlier this month.

Those who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) saw their average monthly benchmark premium jump from $497 per month in 2025 to $625 in 2026, according to KFF, particularly after enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of last year.

"At this point in time, I am not seeing that there's going to be any sort of magic bullet in the short term to bring costs down," Sabrina Corlette, a research professor, founder and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, told ABC News.

Read more.

-ABC News' Mary Kekatos

One day before ballot counting begins in California, the DOJ has filed a last-minute appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking an injunction ordering the segregation of 20,000 ballots from suspected noncitizen voters.

Solicitor General John Sauer reiterates the familiar arguments about the need to investigate -- writing, "California and the United States disagree about the likely unlawfulness of the ballots at issue. These dueling allegations can and should be investigated. In the meantime, however, an interim injunction is necessary to preserve the relative positions of the parties until a trial on the merits can be held. To that end, the Court should issue a limited injunction directing California to stop commingling suspected illegal ballots with legal ones pending completion of the United States’ appeal to the Ninth Circuit and further review in this Court."

The high court will likely ask for a response from the state but it remains unclear -- if not unlikely -- that the justices will act on this.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer

Appearing on a New York Post podcast, Pod Force One, which was taped on Friday, President Donald Trump said he would be "Mr. Veto" if Democrats were to regain control of Congress.

Asked if he would be able to "work to Democrats" if they win the majority in Congress, Trump responded, "Well, if that happens, I guess I'll become Mr. Veto."

"I'm not gonna let them -- And then at some point, we'll probably make deals. That's what's happened. I mean, this is this wouldn't be the first time you'll have a president, and he won't have the House or the Senate, they'll be sending stuff up. You veto it, and eventually, after a month or two of getting all vetoed, you know, it's waste. They just waste. They come over and you make a deal. I think that probably would happen, but hopefully, we don't have to worry about that," the president said.

Earlier in the interview, Trump also noted his veto power.

"Look, if we didn't win, I think we're going to do great. But if we didn't win, I veto everything. I'll be vetoing, vetoing. Then they'll come along, and we'll probably make some deals along the way. But it wouldn't be as good,” he said.

Trump acknowledged that the president's party usually loses seats in midterm elections, but highlighted his intense travel schedule leading up to the midterms.

"When you are president, Republican or Democrat, good or bad, they don't do well at midterms. I don't know why. Doesn't make sense. Never made sense, and we'll see how we do. But I've never worked the midterms like I have this one," Trump said.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa