|
What's at stake?
02/11/2004 09:22 - (SA)
President - President George W Bush and Democratic Senator John Kerry are on the ballot in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Independent Ralph Nader is on the ballot in 34 states and the District of Columbia he is listed as a write-in candidate in Texas.
The US presidential election is decided by Electoral College votes, with each state guaranteed two electoral votes and apportioned additional votes based on population.
In all but two states, whoever wins the popular vote captures all of that state's electoral votes. It takes a majority, or 270 of 538 electoral votes, to win the presidency.
Senate - Voters in 34 of the 50 states will choose a senator for a six-year term, with 19 seats now held by Democrats and 15 held by Republicans at stake.
Open Democratic seats were in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina. Open Republican seats were in Colorado, Illinois and Oklahoma. Currently, Republicans have the majority, 51-48, with one Democratic-leaning independent.
House - All 435 House seats are up for election to two-year terms. Republicans hold 227 seats, Democrats 205, with one Democratic-leaning independent and two vacancies in Republican-held seats.
Governors - Governorships are at stake in 11 states. Democrats hold three - Delaware, Indiana and North Carolina. Republicans hold three - North Dakota, New Hampshire and Vermont. In five states - Missouri, Montana, Utah, Washington and West Virginia - the current governor is not seeking re-election.
Legislatures - About 5 800 seats - 80% of the national total - are up for grabs in 44 states. A shift of as few as three seats could alter party control in 25 of the 84 chambers being contested, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Republicans control both legislative chambers in 21 states, Democrats control both in 17, and control is divided in 11. Nebraska has a unicameral and officially nonpartisan legislature.
Propositions - Some notable ballot measures being decided include whether to allow California to devote $3bn for stem cell research. Several states have propositions dealing with marriage being defined as between a man and a woman, including Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan, Montana and Ohio.
Voters in Colorado will decide how the Electoral College will award the state's nine electoral votes - deciding whether the votes will all go to the candidate who comes in first or whether they will be apportioned according to popular vote. If the initiative passes, it will be applied to the 2004 election.
An issue on the West Virginia ballot is whether lawmakers can allocate taxes or sell bonds to pay bonuses to veterans of Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Voters in Florida will vote on whether to limit privacy rights of girls under 18, a prelude to any future law requiring parents be told when minor daughters seek abortions.
- AP
|
News
