On Tuesday, no one is running for Congress or the presidency. No one is even running for the state Legislature. Yet the issues being decided may well have a much greater effect on the day-to-day lives of local voters than a national election typically would.

For example, when was the last time the president of the United States eased local traffic congestion? Or proposed light rail?

With the secretary of state expecting 51 percent of voters to turn out statewide (including mail-in ballots), laws will be created and modified this coming Tuesday on issues such as insurance companies' responsibility to clearly articulate what they do and do not cover and whether or not the legislature should be required to pass tax increases with a two-thirds majority.

Additionally, several Seattle city offices will be decided, including five city council seats and four school district directors.

Of these battles and others being waged, by far the most contentious and long-lasting for Seattleites is Proposition 1, or the "transportation package." Laying out the strategy for the next 50 years of transportation infrastructure, Prop. 1 has split public opinion on the best road ahead.

A wide coalition of environmental groups supports the proposal even though it means more roads, an idea that usually makes most environmentalists cringe. The coalition includes well-known veterans of the area such as Futurewise, Environment Washington and the Transportation Choices Coalition.

"We're supporting it partly because of the improvements to mass transit, which include 50 miles of light rail, bike lanes, HOV lanes, things of that nature," said Keith Scully, legal director of Futurewise, "Many of the improvements to the roads system are not adding lane capacity, but instead they're just making traffic flow more smoothly."

Standing seemingly alone on the other side of the issue is the local chapter of the Sierra Club, which is trying to use its name recognition to persuade voters to reject the measure. The major issue at play for the Sierra Club is global warming.

"If we're going to do more than pay lip service to the threat of global warming, we need to rethink how we move goods and people most effectively," said Trevor Kaul, director of the Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club. "This means investing in our existing roads and bridges first, building light rail in our lifetime, not 30 years from now, and using funding practices like congestion pricing, which really shapes traffic and reduces congestion, as well as raising the money that we need to invest in alternative transportation."

Other options are limited.

"The alternative [to Prop. 1] is far, far worse," Scully said. He pointed out that this package is the only way to create a path across Lake Washington that doesn't rely entirely on cars, citing that the proposition includes light rail capacity across a rebuilt 520 bridge and mandates connecting Seattle to Bellevue, Overlake and Redmond with light rail. "Without this proposal, global warming would be far worse than with it."

Among the campaigns determined this Tuesday, Proposition 1 promises to be one of the closest.

Learn more about all the issues and candidates online at vote.wa.gov.