Not only will they cast their votes in a presidential election that includes Gov. Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate but they just may decide to end the political careers of Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, two members of Congress with extraordinary longevity and influence over the state.

"The election overall is a big one and an important one, and it's getting people engaged in the process," said Jerry McBeath, a political science professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"We will have more young voters and more minority voters than we have had in recent years -- perhaps ever -- and that means the prospect of losing one or two members (of Congress). That would be significant, just in changing the political color of the Alaska delegation."

With long lines forming for early voting at regional election centers, Alaskans are already deciding whether to return 40-year veteran Stevens and 36-year veteran Young, or send Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich or former state House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz in their place.

If voters throw out the old for the new, neither Democrat would have the clout that seniority carries, particularly in the Senate. They would have the advantage of belonging to what is likely to remain for now the majority party in both bodies.

That affiliation would allow them to gain traction more quickly, said Steve Haycox, a history professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

"And they are going to have to learn what all the others have had to learn: how to educate Congress and explain Alaska's needs in a context that will allow them to continue funding in Alaska," he said.

Stevens and Young are masters at the game of bringing home federal dollars, which account for a third of the state's economic base. Without the veteran lawmakers, Haycox said the state would likely see a drop off in transportation funds and earmarks -- the controversial provisions added to legislation that directs money to a particular organization or project in a politician's home state.

But both Stevens and Young also are weighed down by a continuing federal corruption probe that has reached deep into Alaska's political structure. Juneau economist George Rogers, who was a consultant to the 1955 Alaska Constitutional Convention, said the election is momentous because the federal corruption inquiry has exposed a need for fundamental change. He said too many political leaders have strayed from the ideals that launched the young state, allowing greed and partisan politics to prevail instead.