It’s not just a Harris-Trump show: This November 5, American voters will vote on new members of Congress, thousands of state and local officials, and a number of referendums including on hot-button issues like abortion.
Here’s a look at who and what is up for voting beyond the election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
Congress
In addition to choosing the president, millions of American voters will decide the fate of Congress: both in the House of Representatives – where all the seats are up for grabs – and in the Senate, where one-third of the seats are up for grabs.
The House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a congressional district and elected to a two-year term. Republicans hold the House by a small margin, but with Harris joining the race, Democrats hope that their efforts to retake the lower house will increase.
Voting is taking place on thirty-four out of 100 seats of the Senate. The Senate consists of two senators from each state, whose tenure is six years. Democrats are now in control, but Republicans are hoping to reverse the situation.
If the same party wins the presidency and both houses of Congress, it will have the power to pursue the president’s agenda without the support of opposition lawmakers.
Governors
Gubernatorial elections will be held in 11 of the 50 US states, with key races in New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington state.
The Governor is the top executive at the state level, where most powers do not belong to the federal government.
referendums
Since the federal right to abortion was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022, the issue has been ever-present on the political landscape.
Democrats have often used the debate over reproductive rights to dissuade female voters from voting for Republicans.
Abortion rights will be the subject of referendums in 11 states, 10 of which are on whether to establish a state-level abortion guarantee. Voters in Nebraska will decide whether abortion access should be limited to the first trimester.
Voters in dozens of states are being asked to decide on a number of other issues.
For example, in Colorado, voters will vote on whether to ban “trophy hunting” of mountain lions, bobcats and lynxes.
And in Maine, voters will decide if they want to change their state flag.
local elections
Thousands of local offices, including state-level lawmakers, judges, mayors, city council members, county officials, sheriffs and others, will also be up for election.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
