On Tuesday, history will be made on both the national and local levels as Americans around the globe exercise their right to vote in the process to decide who will represent them on all levels of government.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) may steal the national spotlight as one of the two men will become America’s next president, but numerous other races that directly impact residents on the local level will be decided as well.

Locally, voters will select several state legislators, two Kitsap County commissioners, a county auditor, a Superior Court judge as well as other elected officials.

The Kitsap County Democrats are gathering at the Silverdale Beach Hotel from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday night to watch the election returns, which should be available locally at about 8 p.m., while the presidential race results from the East Coast will be filtering in hours earlier.

Local Democrats will be holding signs at the corner of Silverdale Way and Ridgetop Boulevard in Silverdale today to encourage people to vote.

The Kitsap County Republicans will be at the Cloverleaf Sports Bar and Grill in East Bremerton beginning at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to see how their candidates fare in this year’s elections.

Although Tuesday is Election Day, the Kitsap County Auditor’s Office has already received 48 percent of the ballots from the county’s registered voters as of Thursday afternoon, county elections manager Dolores Gilmore said.

“We’re projecting a turnout of 85 percent, which is very high,” Gilmore said. “We still have two days before Election Day, and there will be several people who take their ballots to the drop boxes on Election Day.”