At 8 o'clock EST tonight, the polls will close in Massachusetts and votes will start being counted for one of the most closely watched mid-term elections in recent history. Voters will be choosing a candidate to fill the late Ted Kennedy's seat, and whether they elect a Democrat or a Republican is so important that this has become a national issue, with Barack Obama himself visiting the state on Sunday to campaign for the Democratic candidate. Currently, the Democrats have a filibuster-proof majority, with 60% of the Senate voting Democrat. If, however, the Massachusetts seat went to a Republican candidate, they would lose that power which would, inevitably, change how the health care reform bill gets passed. According to The Plain Dealer, Republicans are hoping to send a message, by winning this election, that their party has rebounded from the great losses they suffered from the 2008 election.

Until recently, it was a given that the Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley, would win the state. Massachusetts hasn't elected a Republican senator since 1972 and Ted Kennedy had held the spot for 47 years. However, with all the discontent over the health care reform bill, whether or not the Republicans can filibuster has become a greater issue, and one that has given the Republican candidate Scott Brown more steam. People who would normally vote Democrat are choosing instead to vote for Brown, in hopes that he will throw a wrench in the current health care bill. All this attention has caused voter turnout in Massachusetts to reach record high numbers, according to The Daily Press. Election officials in Boston said that the voter turnout was more than twice that of the primaries, and 40-55% of registered voters are expected to vote in the Senate race. Whether the Republicans are making a comeback, and whether the Democrats will be able to keep their filibuster-proof lead in the Senate will be determined tonight, once the Massachusetts polls close.