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This Tuesday, NPR is hosting a virtual election viewing party, and we want you to join us.

NPR's politics team has put together a nifty little web-based app designed to let listeners at home follow the results of races around the country along with our hosts on their TVs, Google Chromecast, iPads or laptops. You'll tap into the same real-time results that our hosts and reporters see.

Still, you can't have a party without good grub. So the Washington desk asked us to put together a suggested tasting menu for those of you joining us at home, inspired by the politics in play. Call it a taste-bud tutorial to what's at stake.

About NPR's Election Night Party

On Tuesday, give the cable box a break and gather friends to watch NPR's live midterm elections coverage, from around the tube. NPR News' on-air and online election special will be available through a web-based app built for television and optimized for Google Chromecast iPads and laptops. Here's how you can join NPR's party and invite your friends. The party begins at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Ten Senate seats* are considered to be up for grabs this November – Republicans need to win six of them to take control of that chamber. If you're hankering for poultry, you could give jerk chicken a try in homage to the Senate race in Iowa. OK, so this dish has nothing to do with corn country, but it does speak to one reason why Democratic candidate Bruce Braley has seen his lead in this race erode: Critics allege he's not a very nice guy. Fueling that image is a flap over a dispute with a neighbor — apparently, a neighbor's chickens wandered onto his property and Braley was forced to deny that he threatened litigation over the episode.

For those of you in a pork sort of place, look to North Carolina, where Democratic incumbent Sen. Kay Hagen is hoping her chances of re-election amid anti-Obama sentiment aren't as smoked as the state's famous barbecue.

What about drinks, you ask? Kentucky bourbon, of course. While the GOP is hoping to win the Senate, their leader in that chamber, Mitch McConnell, finds himself fighting to keep his own seat back in Kentucky. He and his Democratic challenger, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, were projected to spend enough on the race to buy just about every man, woman and child in that state a bottle of Maker's Mark.

And for dessert, you could turn to Alaska, where, in part thanks to President Obama's unpopularity in this red state, Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is in hot water. Why not capture some of that heat and serve up baked Alaska?

Or, there's always New Hampshire, where Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen is facing off against Republican Scott Brown. Name ring a bell? That's because Brown used to be a senator in Massachusetts – he shook the Democratic establishment by winning the seat left empty by Sen. Edward Kennedy's death in 2010, then lost it in 2013. Brown's family ties to New Hampshire go back generations, but critics see him as nothing but a carpetbagger. In his honor, we humbly suggest you top off the night with some Boston cream pie.

*The 10 battleground states in the Senate are: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina. We didn't hit all these races with our menu – so suggest your own politically themed dishes in the comments section below.

election night

The run up to midterm elections has sparked many heated legal and ideological arguments over voting procedures and requirements. To understand the debate, I went to Charlotte, North Carolina for a live community conversation around these voting laws. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a North Carolina law to go into effect that eliminates same-day voter registration and reduces the number of early voting days.

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Civil rights activist Charles Jones began the discussion when he shared a few of his personal experiences. Travis Dove/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Travis Dove/NPR

Civil rights activist Charles Jones began the discussion when he shared a few of his personal experiences.

Travis Dove/NPR

We heard from 77-year-old Charles Jones. He was heavily involved in voter registration efforts during the civil rights movement in 1960s. Jones shared a poignant story about a meeting he helped organize in Terrell County, Georgia to help African-Americans get comfortable with voting. The sheriff - also the local Ku Klux Klan leader - interrupted the meeting, but Jones emphasized the importance of standing up for yourself and making your voice heard.

"We have the option to help define our own lives," Jones said. "Involve yourself in learning from a factual base. Don't let anybody tell you what you ought to be doing, ought to be thinking."

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Hans von Spakovsky, manager for Election Reform Initiative and senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and also a former member of the Federal Election Commission. Travis Dove/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Travis Dove/NPR

Hans von Spakovsky, manager for Election Reform Initiative and senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and also a former member of the Federal Election Commission.

Travis Dove/NPR

Hans von Spakovsky is the manager of the Election Reform Initiative at the Heritage Foundation, and the co-author of Who's Counting?: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk. He says the biggest reasons people fail to vote are not restrictive voter laws, but apathy and dissatisfaction with the candidates.

"The Census Bureau does a survey of non-voters and the biggest reason people don't vote has nothing to do with procedural issues...how you register, it's because they are not interested in politics, and they don't think their vote will make a difference, and they don't think that the candidates will really do anything for them," he said.

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Janai Nelson, associate director-counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Travis Dove/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Travis Dove/NPR

Janai Nelson, associate director-counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

Travis Dove/NPR

Janai Nelson is the Deputy Director and Associate Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She talked about how minority communities and low-income Americans are most affected by more restrictive voting laws.

"I fear that we're at critical stage in our current history where we risk turning back the hands on the clock and going back to a time where we are - for a variety of reasons - restricting the people who can vote in this country," she said.

We wanted the conversation to go beyond the McGlohon Theater in Charlotte. We held our social media chat - in collaboration with member station WFAE and La Noticia, North Carolina's oldest Spanish speaking newspaper - in English and Spanish. You can follow that conversation here:

[View the story "NPR Presents: Michel Martin, Voting Rights or Wrongs?" on Storify]

All around the country, gasoline prices have been falling for weeks, down to an average of about $3 a gallon. Those lower prices are helping restrain inflation across the board.

On Wednesday, the Labor Department said its consumer price index barely inched up 0.1 percent last month. Over the past 12 months, the CPI has risen by 1.7 percent, roughly half of its historical average rate of increase.

That sounds great for consumers.

But some economists see possible trouble ahead. They worry that if energy prices were to keep sliding, the process could contribute to deflation — a brutal cycle of falling prices last seen in this country during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Economists consider deflation to be the nightmare scenario. To understand why, imagine you own a factory. To make your product, you first must purchase parts and raw materials. You promise workers a certain wage. You borrow money to expand.

All of these transactions are based on the idea that you will be able to sell your goods at a particular price. But what if prices start falling?

Suddenly, you can't afford to repay your loan or live up to your contract with workers. You can't afford the parts that already are sitting on your inventory shelves. You have to start selling products at a loss, even as your competitors are slashing their prices.

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The downward pressure creates a vicious cycle that quickly leads to a broad plunge in the value of businesses, homes and other investments. While inflation can be painful and corrosive over time, deflation can crush an economy like a boulder out of the sky.

So where is the downward price pressure coming from today? Look overseas.

In both Europe and China, growth is weak. When consumers and companies in other countries start cutting their purchases of energy and goods, then global prices fall.

All over the world, central bankers and policymakers are trying to stimulate growth to keep prices from falling further. In this country, the Federal Reserve, which sets the direction of interest rates, wants to see the inflation rate hold steady at 2 percent.

"Given the deflationary winds blowing our way from Europe, the Fed is going to want to see CPI much higher" before boosting interest rates, Jonathan Lewis, the top investment officer at Samson Capital Advisors, said in an analysis.

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@officialdavet shared this image from Lake Orion, Mich., as part of our callout for photos of gas prices across the country. @officialdavet/Instagram hide caption

itoggle caption @officialdavet/Instagram

@officialdavet shared this image from Lake Orion, Mich., as part of our callout for photos of gas prices across the country.

@officialdavet/Instagram

For most Americans, here's what all of this means: Wages and prices are not moving much, and interest rates are remaining low. There may be a danger of deflation lurking just over the horizon, but so far, the drop in energy prices has been a boost for consumers.

Many are applauding the pleasures of low inflation. For example, they can buy a car with a cheap loan and then fill it up with cheap gas. That can help stimulate the economy in this country by increasing travel and consumer purchasing power.

"I'm on a very tight budget," said Macy Gould, a Lexington, Ky., resident who graduated from college in May. She was thrilled this past weekend when she was able to refuel for about $2.83 a gallon. "Spending less on gas is a real help to me," she said.

Earlier this year, a driving trip she wanted to make to St. Louis "just wasn't doable," she said. Now that the cost of gas is down so much, "I'm hoping I can get that back on the calendar."

deflation

gas prices

Look at your paycheck.

Chances are good you won't see much more there than you did in the summer of 2008 — just before the financial crisis hit. Average private-sector earnings are $24.53 an hour now, unchanged from 2008, after adjusting for inflation.

So most likely, you haven't felt yourself moving up for years.

Now, that may be changing.

On Friday, the Labor Department said that its latest wage-and-salary index reading showed a 2.3 percent rise over the 12 months ended in September. And the Commerce Department's monthly measure of personal income also ticked up slightly.

"Even a minimal increase in wage growth is a sign of welcome improvement in the labor market," Lindsey Piegza, chief economist for Sterne Agee, wrote in her analysis.

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Many economists say bigger raises may be coming soon. "We expect this trend of rising wages will continue and provide the fuel for an economic expansion that could last several more years," Bernard Baumohl, chief economist for The Economic Outlooks Group, wrote in his assessment.

But even if a major raise isn't on your horizon, five factors will be helping stretch your current paycheck:

Cheap gasoline. In the summer of 2008, gas was $4 a gallon. On Friday, AAA said the national average, as of Saturday, will be below $3 for the first time in four years. The auto club says that downshift will save consumers $250 million a day, compared with earlier this summer when gas was $3.68.

A strong dollar. The U.S. dollar had more global purchasing power back in the early 2000s. Then its value fell compared with other currencies, reaching a bottom in 2011. Today, the dollar is strong again, allowing U.S. consumers to purchase imported goods and foods at lower prices. That change will help keep inflation low for Americans.

Low interest rates. Millions of homeowners have been able to get extraordinarily cheap mortgages. Just before the financial crisis, 30-year fixed mortgages were being offered at 6.5 percent. Today, rates are below 4 percent, allowing homeowners to lower their monthly payments.

Fierce retail competition. For shoppers, this should be a great holiday season because of cutthroat pricing. Wal-Mart told the Wall Street Journal it is testing a plan to match online prices. Best Buy and Target already are doing that, and Target is even offering free shipping on everything through Dec. 20. Analysts expect brutal price competition all around.

Cheaper food (eventually). Corn harvests were enormous this year, sending prices much lower. In 2008, a bushel cost around $8; now it's about half that. It takes a long while for low commodity prices to work their way through the food chain, but the huge corn harvest should help cut animal feed prices, which eventually could tone down the high beef prices that have hurt shoppers.

Of those five factors, perhaps none lifts consumers' spirits more than those tumbling gas prices.

"Consumers are experiencing 'sticker delight' as gas prices unexpectedly drop below $3 in much of the country," AAA chief executive Bob Darbelnet said. "Lower gas prices are a boon to the economy — just in time for holiday travel and shopping."

Jose Ferreira, a real estate developer filling his tank at a Boston gas station, did indeed express delight with the price decline. "People struggle to survive, you know. If you can save some money, it's great for everybody," he said.

And while cheap gas can brighten your near-term financial situation, the stock market's surge can help with the long term. On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 17,390, up 195, to hit a record high. On the same date six years ago during the financial crisis, it was at 9,325.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

gas prices

consumers