America heading to the polls

This is it. For the past year, George W. Bush and Al Gore have invaded your TV, your mailbox, your conversations. They have racked up thousands of air miles, led countless rallies and faced off in debates. And when the polls close and the numbers are tallied tonight, one of them will get ready to assume the most powerful position in the world. Yet even though the winner will be announced in less than 12 hours, just who that person will be is still uncertain. In one of the closest presidential races Americans have seen in the last century, Bush and Gore are virtually neck and neck in the polls, making every vote -- especially those in big swing states like Pennsylvania -- count. Both Democrats and Republicans are at arms to make sure their candidate and their parties come out on top, especially in an election where control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives is up for grabs. In addition, the next president may have the opportunity to appoint as many as three justices to the Supreme Court -- a possibility that has pro-life and pro-choice supporters in a frenzy. With all that is at stake, voters today will be deciding much more than just Bush or Gore. Yet it's quite possible that a majority of Americans won't be voting today. Turnout has been decreasing steadily every year, particularly among younger voters, and experts say that this year voter turnout may not even reach 50 percent. And experts have pointed to Pennsylvania as one of the key swing states that could be the determinant in the election. The latest polls show that Bush and Gore are almost even in the race for the state's 23 electoral votes -- a tie that has led both candidates to spend a good part of their final campaign days stumping in Pennsylvania. Each candidate has, more or less, concentrated not only on specifics of policy, but wrapped up the election in terms of philosophical differences. "Gov. Bush trusts the people," Bush spokesman Ken Lisaius said, charging that Gore is of the "philosophy that Washington knows best." Gore, on the other hand, has said differences in economic philosophy separate the two. "We face a choice as fundamental as prosperity itself," Gore said in Scranton, Pa., last week, charging that under his leadership the economy would continue to grow, but that the election of Bush would lead to selective tax cuts and a busted budget. Though the candidates are similar in many respects, they have differentiated themselves on several key issues. For Social Security, Gore has called for putting the program's funds in a "lockbox," forbidding any of the funds from being used for anything other than Social Security. Bush favors providing $1 trillion -- the money would come from the projected $2.4 trillion surplus over the next 10 years -- to younger workers to privately invest in interest deferred accounts. He also advocates a $1 trillion across-the-board tax cut. In the area of affirmative action, Bush has come out staunchly opposed to quotas and advocates need-based, rather than race-based, aid. Gore, who has been backed by the NAACP, supports affirmative action as it currently stands and does not think any reductions in programming need to be made. Gore is against vouchers, and says the program will end up taking money away from public schools. Bush favors the use of tuition vouchers, saying that parents, regardless of their income, should be able to get the best education possible for their children. Their stances on abortion may also be a deciding factor for many because of the possible Supreme Court appointments. Gore has said he will pick more liberal justices, Bush, more conservative. Bush has pointed to Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, the court's two most conservative justices, as his model for possible appointments. The Bush campaign contends that the Supreme Court issue is being used as a "scare tactic" by Gore. "Governor Bush has been very direct on this issue," Lisaius said. "He has no litmus test on the appointment of justices." The Associated Press contributed to this report.