All eyes are rightly on the presidential election to be held today, but there is another huge election that will determine how effective the next president will be.

The House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress, also goes to elections as every two years, and the winning presidential candidate will want his party to control the chamber so that he can pass his own legislation.

The head of the House Democrats’ campaign operation spoke to the media this afternoon and said it could take a week or more before the final outcome, and thus the balance of power, is officially determined.

Representative Suzan DelBene told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that the final outcome could take as long as the eight-day 2022 midterms as more voters choose to cast their ballots by mail.

In 2022, Republicans won the House by about 6,675 votes, the results of the five closest races.

Some of these contests were decided by fewer than 1,000 votes.