Every congressional and Senate race has its own local twist. Personal character and corruption make huge differences. But despite this, we already know what this race has been about. First, voters are looking for change. Incumbents in both parties have the advantage of money, of gerrymandered districts, of machinery. But challengers have the advantage of representing a change.

Second, stunningly, voters across the country have turned against the war in Iraq. Democratic challengers started out talking about veterans benefits and body armor. But they are ending the race tying their opponents to Bush and his "stay the course" policy in Iraq. Even Republican incumbents are distancing themselves from Bush's fiasco.

Third, voters aren't happy with the economy. Profits are up, unemployment is down, gas prices have been coming down (for a bit) -- but most voters aren't happy in any case. Republican candidates keep waving the red flag of taxes, taxes, taxes -- but voters are looking for good jobs, for help from soaring health care, energy and college costs. Incomes are stagnant and costs are rising.

Finally, voters are disgusted with Washington, with scandals and corruption and the power of big corporate lobbies. Corruption is costing voters directly -- in higher drug prices, in growing energy dependence on the Middle East, in rising college costs. Even Republican incumbents are running as if they had delivered alternative energy to America.

Pundits say Democrats have no agenda, but that isn't true. Congressional Democrats are unified around a basic bread-and-butter agenda: Raise the minimum wage, cut drug prices, cut interest on student loans, roll back subsidies for Big Oil and invest in alternative energy, revoke the tax breaks for moving jobs abroad. If Democrats take control of the House, that agenda will pass with overwhelming majorities, including large numbers of Republicans. If Republicans retain control, the measures won't even come to a vote.

Another story will emerge after the elections -- just how broken our election system is. The president champions democracy abroad but does nothing to strengthen it at home. States are passing new restrictions on voting -- requiring official forms of identification, purging voter lists, intimidating new citizens and poor citizens. Republicans have developed systematic ways of suppressing the minority vote. The press, which knows better, covers their claim that they are concerned about ineligible voters when they are concerned about too many minority votes.

The press is weaker and more partisan. So there really isn't anyone authoritative to police the campaigns. The Republican National Committee pays an intermediary to do the infamous "Call me, Harold" racist ad in the Tennessee Senate race. The head of the RNC, Ken Mehlman, says he has no control over the contractor. The GOP candidate, Bob Corker, who benefits from the racial slur, can act outraged and call for the ad to be taken down. The ad's developer, Terry Nelson, gets fired by Wal-Mart, but remains on John McCain's payroll.

The systemic inequities of the broken system get worse. Money talks louder than ever. Many of the electronic voting machines -- easily skewed as computer scientists have shown -- still have no verifiable paper record. In too many states, minorities are disenfranchised disproportionately as those charged with crimes who have paid their debt to society remain barred from voting.

Scientific gerrymandering makes it harder and harder for the public to make its will known. In 2004, only 10 congressional seats were won by a margin of fewer than 5 percentage points. Many were uncontested; most were landslides. It is a stark statement of how unhappy people are that some 60 districts this year have close races (less than a 10 percent difference).

Voters are looking for a real change, but our broken system makes it harder and harder for elections to register their wishes. If Democrats take over control, they will be handed a mandate for reforming a system that is broken. But not much will happen without an independent citizens movement of great strength.