Today, millions of Americans willfor their President and their local representatives in Congress. But what is the US Congress?
Election day
All eligible voters will be given the chance to choose between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump.
Control of Congress – made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate – hangs in the balance.
Meanwhile, some states arelike abortion and housing, and choosing their leader — the Governor.
U.S. system
The U.S. is a republic. Its people vote for its head of state, the President. Australia’s head of state is King Charles III.
The President doesn’t have a role in Congress; instead, they oversee the ‘executive branch’ of the Government.
This includes the Cabinet, which is made up of the heads of Government departments including the Treasury and the Department of Defense.
Cabinet members are nominated by the President and approved by the Senate.
What is the US Congress?
Congress is the U.S. equivalent to Parliament. It’s made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The House has 435 elected officials, each representing their local area. These areas are split up by population.
California has 52 Representatives for its 40 million residents, while Wyoming’s population of 585,000 vote for one Representative.
All 50 states have two senators.
The House
Every two years, Congress goes to elections. Those that fall half-way through a four-year Presidential term are called mid-terms.
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At each of these elections, all 435 seats in the House are up for grabs.
In the 2022 midterm election, Republicans won 222 seats, enough for a majority. That meant they could block the Democrats’ proposed legislation.
Today, both sides are hoping to win at least 218 seats in the House to secure a majority.
The Senate
Senators serve six-year terms. At each Congressional election, around a third of the seats go up for election.
The Democrats hold a small majority in the Senate: 51-49. The Vice President holds a Senate seat which can be used to break tied votes.
At least four Senate seats currently or recently held by Democrats are expected to be competitive: West Virginia, Montana, Ohio, and Michigan. Meanwhile, the Democrats are targeting Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who previously unsuccessfully ran for President.
State races
At the state level, the equivalent of the President is the Governor, who is similarly elected by the people but doesn’t sit in the state’s ‘legislature’.
11 states will elect Governors this year.
North Carolina is this year’s most high-profile race, following reports from U.S. media outlet CNN that Republican candidate Mark Robinson had allegedly made online posts in the past referring to himself as a “Black Nazi”. Robinson is now suing CNN.
State issues
Voters in most states will be asked about whether they want a particular law to change.
These are called “ballot measures”. For example, in California, residents will be asked whether they want to increase the state’s hourly minimum wage to $US18 ($AU27.30).
Several states will vote on changes to abortion laws.
In Florida, voters will be asked whether to overturn the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks, before most people know they are pregnant.
