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Elections & Representation

The Electoral College, apportionment, redistricting, the census, succession, and how officeholders are chosen and replaced.

Apportionment
How the 435 House seats are divided among the states after every census
Campaign Finance
The laws on raising and spending money in federal elections, from contribution limits and disclosure to super PACs, and the court rulings that shape them
Certification and the Electoral Count
The steps between Election Day and Inauguration Day: state certification, the meeting of electors, and the counting of electoral votes in a joint session of Congress on January 6
Congressional Elections
How the 435 representatives and 100 senators are chosen, every two years, and how vacancies are filled
Midterm Elections
The federal elections held halfway through a presidential term, when every House seat, about a third of the Senate, and most governorships are on the ballot
National Party Conventions
The quadrennial gatherings where each major party formally nominates its presidential and vice presidential candidates and adopts a platform
Political Parties
The organizations that recruit candidates, run campaigns, and organize government, unmentioned in the Constitution but central to how American politics works
Presidential Elections
From primaries and caucuses to conventions, the general election, and inauguration: the four-year cycle of choosing a President
Presidential Inauguration
The ceremony at noon on January 20 at which the President takes the constitutional oath of office and formally begins a four-year term
Presidential Succession
Who becomes President if the office falls vacant, and what happens when a President is temporarily unable to serve
Presidential Transition and Inauguration
The roughly eleven weeks between Election Day and January 20, when one administration hands the government to the next
Primaries and Caucuses
How parties choose their nominees, through state-run primary elections and party-run caucuses, including the calendar and delegate rules for presidential nominations
Redistricting and Gerrymandering
How states redraw congressional districts, the rules that constrain them, and the fight over drawing lines for partisan advantage
Special Elections
Elections held outside the regular calendar to fill vacancies in Congress and other offices, which can shift narrow majorities and serve as signals of the national mood
Term Limits
The limits on how long officials may serve, from the two-term presidential limit of the Twenty-second Amendment to state limits on governors and legislators, and the debate over limits for Congress
The 25th Amendment in Practice
How the amendment on presidential succession and disability has actually been used: two vice presidential appointments, several temporary transfers of power, and the never-used Section 4
The Census
The constitutionally required count of every person in the country every ten years, and what it decides
The Electoral College
How Americans actually choose a President: 538 electors, 270 to win, and the state-by-state rules behind them
The Two-Party System
Why American politics has been dominated by two major parties, the electoral rules that sustain the pattern, and proposals to change it
Third Parties
Minor parties and independent candidates outside the two major parties, which rarely win national office but have shaped issues and election outcomes
Vacancies in Congress
What happens when a seat in the House or Senate becomes empty through death, resignation, or expulsion, how it is filled, and how vacancies affect narrow majorities
Voter Registration and Eligibility
Who may vote in U.S. elections, how the right expanded through constitutional amendments and federal laws, and how states register voters and maintain voter rolls