Who will make the final decision is taking center stage in some races.
In Vermont, the Lieutenant Governor's race looks destined to be decided not in the voting booth but in the state house.
A NewsChannel 5-Burlington Free Press poll shows the three candidates in a statistical dead heat. Republican Brian Dubie has a slight lead with 30 percent. Democrat Peter Shumlin and Progressive Anthony Pollina are right on his heels.
Under Vermont law if no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote, the legislature makes the final decision.
Voters say they want the legislature to follow their lead.
"I think out of fairness, the person who gets the most popular votes," said voter Mickey Cobb.
"I think whoever gets the most votes out to be the one who wins the election, it seems pretty clear to me that's how it ought to go," voter Debbie Gameron said.
Dubie said the debate reminds him of his Little League coaching days when players wanted to change the rules mid-game.
"We've got a Constitution that is the rule book for the way elections are conducted in our state. It's been in place for 225 years for those who want to change the rules in this election cycle, I say, 'Hey, you've got to change the constitution to do that,'" Dubie said.
Pollina said changing the Constitution is exactly what the Legislature should do after the election.
"I think we need to move away from that system, we need to institute instant runoff voting, or other changes in state law, that would guarantee voters that their vote is going to count. And this year, I think the legislature should elect the person who has the most votes," Pollina said.
Shumlin said if he doesn't win the most votes he will step aside.
"I don't want to serve as Lt. Governor of the state of Vermont unless I get the most votes. If I have one vote less than any one of my opponents, I don't want to serve. And I can't believe anyone would," Shumlin said.
With the campaign as the backdrop, experts say there is a good chance election reform will be an issue in the next legislative session.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.