From changing a state flag to bobcat hunting: US vote not just for president

Washington: It’s not just the Harris-Trump show: US voters this November 5 will cast ballots for new members of Congress, tens of thousands of state and local officials, and in multiple referendums on topics including hot-button issues like abortion.

Here is a look at who and what is up for a vote beyond the choice between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.

Congress

In addition to choosing a president, millions of US voters will decide the fate of Congress: both in the House of Representatives - where all seats are up for grabs - and the Senate, where one-third are.

The House of Representatives has 435 members, with each representing a Congressional district and elected for a two-year term. Republicans hold the House by a small margin, but with Harris’s entry into the race, Democrats are hoping to benefit from a surge in enthusiasm to recapture the lower house.

Thirty-four of the Senate’s 100 seats are in play. The Senate consists of two senators from every state, who hold six-year terms. Democrats are in control now, but Republicans are hoping to reverse the situation.

If the same party were to win the presidency and both houses of Congress, it would have the power to push through the president’s agenda without support from opposition lawmakers.

Governors

Gubernatorial elections will occur 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 that do not belong to the federal government lie.

Referendums

Since the federal right to an abortion was overturned in 2022 by the Supreme Court, the issue has been ever-present on the political landscape.

Democrats have often used the debate over reproductive rights to dissuade women voters from casting ballots for Republicans.

Abortion rights will be the subject of referendums in 11 states, 10 of which are on whether to establish state-level abortion guarantees. Voters in Nebraska will decide whether the possibility of abortion should be limited to the first trimester.

In dozens of states, voters are being asked to decide on a variety of other issues.

In Colorado, for example, voters will vote on whether or not to ban “trophy hunting” of the mountain lion, bobcat and lynx.

And in Maine, voters will decide if they want to change their state flag.

Local elections

Thousands of local offices will also be up for election, including state-level lawmakers, judges, mayors, city council members, county officials, sheriffs and others.