The second presidential debate will be held tonight at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., with citizens playing a bigger role.

Moderator Charles Gibson, veteran ABC journalist, will ask questions pertaining to foreign policy and homeland security as well as economic and domestic policies. The numbers of questions will be equally distributed between the two categories.

The debate will be “town hall” style format in which questions will be submitted by members of the audience and Gibson will choose 16 of them.

Many major media polls indicated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., won the first debate against President George W. Bush. However, national polls following the first debate showed that the election is still neck-in-neck.

“I think that since the election is so close I think that each debate will help capture votes,” Monica L. Keele, senior in Spanish, said.

Major topics may arise in the debate, including CIA reports released Wednesday that said there was no evidence Iraq made any weapons of mass destruction after 1991.

Washington University has spent $1.25 million for the arrangements of the debate, the university’s Web site stated.

Police are also prepared as the security will be tight with concern about a possible terrorist attack. Some highways and secondary roads will be closed during the candidates visit, Washington University officials report.

The debate will be held in the university’s Athletic Complex.