By Wesley Johnson, PA, in New York
The US presidential election will dominate headlines around the world but Americans will vote for far more than their next commander-in-chief when they go to the polls.
All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives are up for election along with 35 seats in the Senate and 11 state governors' positions.
Countless local elections, state elections and ballot propositions will also present voters with a wide range of decisions on November 4.
In the widely-publicised presidential election, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama will vie with each other to win the White House and succeed President George Bush as the 44th president of the United States.
Mr Bush is ineligible to run for re-election as the US president is limited to two terms, eight years, in office by the 22nd amendment to the US Constitution.
It will be the first presidential election since 1928 in which neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent vice president is a candidate as vice president Dick Cheney has decided not to run.But other elections will take place at all levels of US government.
In the US Senate, the 100 seats are split into three classes in order to stagger elections.
In 2008, all 33 seats in the Senate Class II are up for election, with the winners eligible to serve six-year terms from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2015.
Two special elections will also take place following the resignation of Mississippi senator Trent Lott, and the death of Wyoming Senator Craig L Thomas.
Both were Class I senators and their successors will be able to serve the remainder of terms that expire on January 3, 2013.
The current composition of the Senate consists of 49 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and two independents (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who both caucus with Democrats).
Democrats hold a distinct advantage going in to the 2008 Senate race, with only 12 Democratic seats up for election compared with 23 Republican.
It is the largest open seat gap between the two parties in 50 years, but the race is expected to come down to the results of just 11 key seats.
These are Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia.
In the US House of Representatives, all 435 seats are up for election and the Democrats, who regained a majority in the 2006 elections, will hope to retain or expand their control of the US Congress.
The presidential election should help to increase voter turnout and the winners will serve as members of the 111th US Congress from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2001.
The impact of all its members being involved in a race was clear in September when the House initially rejected a rescue package for the troubled US economy, which the president deemed necessary to avoid financial panic and a "long and painful recession".
The bill, which committed up to 700 billion dollars (£380bn) of taxpayers' money and represented unprecedented private sector intervention, was unpopular among voters and, with each member of the House fighting for his or her seat, few wanted to be seen as voting against the electorate's desires less than 40 days before an election.
On a state level, 11 of the 50 US governors are also up for re-election, with six of the seats held by Democrats and five by Republicans.
Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware, Matt Blunt of Missouri, and Mike Easley of North Carolina are all retiring, leaving eight incumbent governors running in the 2008 race.
North Dakota, Utah, Vermont and Indiana are expected to remain in Republican hands, while Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and West Virginia are expected to stay under Democratic control.
Missouri, currently Republican, and Washington state and North Carolina, both currently Democratic, are the three most likely to be strongly contested, but polls show they are all leaning towards the Democrats in 2008.
