ELECTION RESULTS may take a long time to materialize (Shutterstock).

The results of Tuesday’s midterm general election may not be known until well into Wednesday and perhaps beyond.

Among the factors affecting the count are a larger-than-expected turnout for a non-presidential year, pushes by Democrats to vote early and Republicans to vote in person on Election Day, challenges to ballots (and legal battles that could result), and even weather.

Most observers expect the Republicans to gain enough seats to take a majority in the House of Representatives, but the battle for the U.S. Senate will be more complicated. The New York Times identifies nine Senate races as competitive, and six of them in states that routinely report results late.

In Orange County, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can cast ballots at their polling places and drop-off boxes.

Putin friend admits election meddling

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin (Wikipedia/Kremlin.ru).

A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin posted a remark on social media that Russia has interfered in American elections. According to the Associated Press, Veygeny Prigozhin boasted, “Gentlemen, we have interfered, are interfering and will interfere” in politics in the U.S. and other nations.

He and Putin have previously denied any such meddling.

Also in the news … Elon Musk, new owner of Twitter, is continuing to make waves. On Monday he recommended that voters support a Republican Congress as a counterweight to a Democratic President, a position that brought immediate controversy … Former president Donald Trump has said he will make a “big announcement” on Nov. 15. He is widely expected to announce a third candidacy for the presidency.

Sports: Ohtani among  AL MVP finalists

SHOHEI OHTANI (Angels photo).

The Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani is among the three finalists for the American League Most Valuable Player award.

The Baseball Writers Association of America revealed on Monday that Ohtani, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez are the top three.

In the National League, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is among the three finalists for Manager of the Year, along with Buck Showalter of the New York Mets and Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves.

Weather: Rainy and windy on Election Day

LOTS OF RAIN and wind are forecast for Orange County on Tuesday (Shutterstock).

It’s probably a good thing that so many Californians voted early, because Tuesday’s Election Day forecast for the West Orange County area is for lots of rain and wind.

The National Weather Service is calling for winds gusting up to 45 miles an hour and a half to three-quarters of an inch of rain. The daytime high is predicted to be 62 with an overnight low of 45.

Wednesday will see some showers before 10 a.m., followed by cloudy, then sunny skies. Winds could reach 25 miles an hour. The daytime high will be 62 with a nighttime low of 45.