Today, control of Congress hangs in the balance.

Democrats, Republicans, Independents and third parties will face off in a midterm election that could unseat the Republican majority in Congress.

Locally, students can cast their ballot in a state race that has garnered national attention because of its potential impact on the control of Congress.

State Treasurer Bob Casey-D will face Sen. Rick Santorum-R in a hotly contested race for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Two independent polls released Wednesday showed Sen. Rick Santorum continuing to trail Democrat Bob Casey in the final days of the campaign. In a Quinnipiac University poll of 933 likely voters, Casey led Santorum by 10 points, 52 percent to 42 percent.

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell-D is running against candidate Lynn Swann-R in another close race.

Other local races include: Don Hilliard-D and Rep. John Peterson-R running for U.S. Congress, Tom Martin-L, Jon Eich-D, Jake Corman-R and Robert Cash-I running for District 34 State Senator, Centre County Commissioner Scott Conklin-D and Barbara Spencer-R running for the 77th District of the State House and Catherine Baker Knoll-D and Jim Matthews-R running for Lieutenant Governor.

Most students registered to vote on campus will be able to vote at HUB Heritage Hall. Certain exceptions, including North Halls and Atherton Hall, can vote at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 109 McAllister St.

Students who registered in Stone Hall, Synder Hall, Stuart Hall and Hastings Hall can vote at the College Township Building, 1481 E. College Ave.

Represent Penn State will provide a free shuttle service for students who are required to vote downtown. The van will leave from Stuart Hall every 15 minutes from 4 to 8:30 p.m.

Students registered off-campus can refer to their voter registration cards to determine their polling place.

At stake in this election are 435 House seats, 33 Senate seats, governorships in 36 states and thousands of state legislative and local races.Republicans have also all but conceded a loss of six or more House seats to the Democrats.

A poll by the independent Pew Research Center found that Democrats now have a four-point edge over Republicans, narrower than the 11-point advantage two weeks ago.

College Republicans President Todd Taylor said he and fellow Republicans' participation would not be dampened by reports of Democratic advantages.

"There is a perception that Republican turnout [will be] low because the Dems have said the conservative base is

demoralized," he said. "But I can assure you that Republican turnout will be high."

Historically, voter turnout is low in non-presidential election years, with about 40 percent of U.S. citizens of voting age population casting ballots.

Daniel Michelson-Horowitz of Represent Penn State said he expects his fellow students to defy the trend.

"We expect a much higher turnout than previous midterm elections," he said.

Michelson-Horowitz said his organization's registered more than 1,200 voters in September.

"People seem much more motivated on both sides of the aisle, even moderates and independents," College Democrats press secretary Eliot Schmidt said.

Republicans and Democrats all over the country have sent out thousands of volunteers in states to work phone banks and canvass neighborhoods. In Centre County, the activism is no different.

Student volunteers for the Republican Party have been participating in the "72-hour program," which is an intense voter motivation effort during the last 72 hours before the election, Taylor said.

"We've knocked on thousands of doors and made thousands of phone calls," he said.

Schmidt said he and the College Democrats would also be present outside polling places where students are voting today.

"We are going to be handing out candidate literature as well as handbills featuring our list of endorsed candidates," he said.

Represent Penn State is taking a different approach and having a "party at the polls" in the HUB to celebrate student participation, Michelson-Horowitz said.

"We'll have food and information about voting and the electronic voting machines that are new to Centre County," he said. "We'll [also] have volunteers in Represent Penn State T-shirts that students can come up to if they have any questions."

The Associated Press contributed to this report