7 November 2012 Last updated at 14:04

Decision Time USA, a Newsround special on 2012 election

It's the longest, most expensive election on the planet - to decide the president of the USA.

America is a really powerful nation - the decisions made by the US president, like whether to go to war, affect the whole world.

For months, President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney travelled all over the US trying to get people to vote for them. As America prepared to vote, polls suggested it was neck and neck.

In this special Newsround, Ricky travels to the States to meet people from all walks of life to talk about the election, what they think about the candidates, and why they'll vote for them...

This programme was shown on the day of the 2012 American election - 6 November - before Barack Obama was declared the winner.