President, lawmakers and wolves: What Americans will be voting for on Nov 3

Washington

ON NOV 3, American voters will choose whether US President Donald Trump will go on to a second term or if his Democratic challenger Joe Biden will take the helm at the White House for the next four years.

But control of Congress - and the fate of dozens of lawmakers along with it - is also on the ballot, plus governors, referendum measures and more in some states.

Here is where those issues stand:

In addition to voting for the president, millions of US voters will also choose their congressional representatives in November. Congress is made up of two chambers - The Senate and the House of Representatives

House of Representatives: The 435 members are elected to represent their districts for two-year terms. Democrats currently hold the majority in the House, an advantage that is unlikely to change this year, according to experts.

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Senate: In 2020, 33 of 100 seats are up for election to six-year terms.

If Mr Biden wins the presidency and Democrats are able to win the Senate as well as hang onto the House, the party will control all the levers to federal power in Washington - which could also give them considerable control at the state and local levels.

Residents in 11 of 50 states are set to vote for a new governor on Nov 3. Governors head the executive branch of state-level governments, which manage the many issues not handled at the federal level.

The governor is the most powerful political personality in state-level politics, along with senators, who often facilitate communication between statehouses and Washington.

The re-introduction of wolves in Colorado, decriminalisation of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Washington, DC, labour laws in California - these are among the many initiatives that voters are also called on to register their opinions on in the November elections.

Five months after the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by police in Minnesota, police reform measures are also on the ballot in many cities and counties.

Thousands of elected officials are also up for renewal - or not - at the local level. These include races for state legislative bodies, judges, city councils, mayors, county officials, sheriffs and more. AFP