Tight situation of mid-term election

Source: CCTV.com | 11-08-2006 14:01

Democrats are seeking to win control over at least one chamber of Congress in this year's mid-term elections, counting on war-weary Americans to vent their frustrations at the voting booths. And as Tuesday's polls closed in some eastern U.S. states, it looked like the Democrats had picked up some key seats.

Opinion polls showed Democrats favored to recapture control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994. But their chance of taking over the Senate hinged on several key races that were too close to call. All 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are at stake in the elections. Democrats need to pick up 15 House seats and 6 Senate seats to take control of both chambers. Of the 36 gubernatorial races, Republicans are defending 22 seats, and Democrats, 14. Among others, Democrats have won the governorships in Ohio, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and New Hampshire.

While a Republican grabbed the top job in Connecticut. Adding to the election turmoil is the issue of electronic ballots. More than 80 percent of American voters were expected to cast some type of electronic ballot.

The new voting machines confounded some poll workers around the States. And a combination of electronic glitches and human error forced some precincts to extend voting hours or switch to paper ballots.

Editor:Sun Luying