5 things to know about the 2012 General Election

Here are five things to consider heading into Tuesday's general election:

— Will your polling place seem a little empty?

Iowa elections officials say they expect to set a record for early voting, with up to 40 percent of ballots being cast before Nov. 6. That could make for shorter lines at polling places Tuesday.

— What will Iowa's congressional delegation look like after the election?

Nationwide, most congressional elections are not competitive, thanks to decades of redistricting designed to create safe havens for each party. But Iowa's redistricting process is nonpartisan and the state lost a congressional seat this year, so incumbents have faced tough fights to retain their seats.

All of Iowa's four congressional districts are seen as competitive. And in the Des Moines-focused 3rd district, at least one of Iowa's longtime congressmen will lose his job. Incumbent, nine-term Republican Rep. Tom Latham moved to Clive in order to face eight-term Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell, so that means that the election will force at least one of Iowa's congressmen out of his job.

— Depending on a few legislative races, Iowa could take a hard right turn.

If Republicans pick up a couple seats in the Senate and hold the House as expected, the GOP would control the Legislature and governor's office for the first time since 1997.

Republicans have been outspoken in their plans to push ahead on a conservative agenda of property tax cuts, changes to the public school system and a reduction of government oversight efforts. They also promise to begin the process of referring a constitutional amendment to voters that would ban gay marriage, and they want to end public funding of abortions to low-income women in cases of rape, incest, fetal deformity or to save the life of the mother.

— How could this election affect the Iowa Supreme Court?

Justices face a retention vote after their first year on the bench and then every eight years after that. They must receive a simple majority vote to keep the job. Iowa has adopted a nonpartisan system of nominating and appointing judges to insulate them from political pressures.