#Elections

76 entries

Branches (1)

The lower chamber of Congress: 435 members, two-year terms, and the sole power to originate taxes and impeach

Departments (3)

The Justice Department division that enforces federal civil rights laws on voting, discrimination, policing, and disability access

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

The DHS agency that defends federal civilian networks and helps protect the nation's critical infrastructure from cyber and physical threats

The Census Bureau

The agency that counts every resident every ten years and decides how 435 House seats and trillions in funding are divided

Agencies (4)

Election Assistance Commission

The bipartisan independent commission that certifies voting systems, distributes election grants, and maintains the national voter registration form

The Federal Election Commission

The agency that enforces federal campaign finance law, built so that neither party can control it

The United States Postal Service

The self-funded government corporation that delivers to every address in the country six days a week

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

The bipartisan independent commission that investigates and reports on civil rights conditions and federal enforcement

Offices & Roles (2)

Delegates and the Resident Commissioner

The six nonvoting members of the House who represent the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and four U.S. territories, with power to serve on committees but not to vote on final passage of bills

Members of Congress

The 535 elected senators and representatives: their constitutional qualifications, terms, pay, privileges, and the rules that discipline them

Processes (21)

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

Lame-Duck Session

The period after a November election and before the new Congress convenes in January, when outgoing members, including those who lost, still vote on legislation

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 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 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

Principles (7)

Consent of the Governed

The idea, stated in the Declaration of Independence, that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the people they govern

Divided Government

When one party holds the presidency and the other controls at least one chamber of Congress, the usual condition of American government since 1969

Incumbency Advantage

The electoral edge enjoyed by officeholders seeking reelection, which makes most members of Congress very hard to defeat

Majority Rule and Minority Rights

The balance in American government between letting majorities decide and protecting individuals and minorities from majority overreach

Partisanship and Polarization

The growing ideological distance between the two major parties since the 1970s, in Congress and among voters, and its causes and consequences

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that government's authority comes from the people, and how the circle of "the people" has widened

Republicanism

The founding principle that government should rest on elected representatives accountable to the people, rather than on a monarch or on direct rule by the majority

Documents & Cases (31)

Allen v. Milligan (2023)

The case that reaffirmed the Voting Rights Act test for vote dilution and required Alabama to draw a second district where Black voters could elect their candidate

Baker v. Carr (1962)

The case that opened federal courts to challenges against malapportioned legislative districts and defined the modern political question doctrine

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

The case that set the framework for campaign finance law, allowing contribution limits but striking down limits on campaign spending

Bush v. Gore (2000)

The case that ended the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election, effectively deciding the presidency for George W. Bush

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

The case holding that corporations and unions may spend unlimited amounts on independent political advocacy, opening the way for super PACs

Electoral Count Act and the 2022 Reform

The 1887 law governing how states certify and Congress counts presidential electoral votes, and its 2022 overhaul after the disputes of 2020 and January 6, 2021

Hatch Act

The 1939 law limiting partisan political activity by federal employees, and some state and local workers, to keep government work separate from campaigns

Help America Vote Act of 2002

The law passed after the 2000 Florida recount that funded new voting machines, required provisional ballots and statewide voter lists, and created the Election Assistance Commission

Louisiana v. Callais (2026)

The 2026 decision that struck down a majority-Black congressional district and sharply limited when the Voting Rights Act can justify race-based districting

Moore v. Harper (2023)

The case rejecting the independent state legislature theory and confirming that state courts may review congressional maps under state constitutions

National Voter Registration Act of 1993

The motor voter law requiring states to offer registration at driver license and public assistance offices, accept a national mail form, and follow rules for removing voters

NRSC v. FEC (2026)

The 2026 case striking down federal limits on how much political parties may spend in coordination with their own candidates

Powell v. McCormack (1969)

The case holding that the House cannot exclude a duly elected member who meets the Constitution's age, citizenship, and residence requirements

Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

The case establishing one person, one vote for state legislatures, requiring both chambers to be apportioned by population

Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)

The case holding that federal courts cannot decide partisan gerrymandering claims, leaving them to state courts, voters, and Congress

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

The case recognizing racial gerrymandering claims under the Equal Protection Clause when race drives the shape of a district

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

The case that struck down the Voting Rights Act coverage formula, ending federal preclearance of election changes in mostly Southern states

The Fifteenth Amendment

The 1870 amendment barring federal and state governments from denying the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

The First Amendment

The 1791 amendment protecting freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition from government interference

The Nineteenth Amendment

The 1920 amendment barring federal and state governments from denying the right to vote on account of sex

The Seventeenth Amendment

The 1913 amendment providing for the direct election of senators by the voters of each state, replacing election by state legislatures

The Twelfth Amendment

The 1804 amendment requiring electors to cast separate votes for President and Vice President, adopted after the deadlocked election of 1800

The Twentieth Amendment

The 1933 Lame Duck Amendment, which moved Inauguration Day to January 20 and the start of Congress to January 3, and set rules for a President-elect's death

The Twenty-fourth Amendment

The 1964 amendment banning poll taxes and other taxes as a condition of voting in federal elections

The Twenty-second Amendment

The 1951 amendment limiting a President to two elected terms, written into the Constitution after Franklin Roosevelt won four

The Twenty-sixth Amendment

The 1971 amendment lowering the voting age to 18 in all federal, state, and local elections

The Twenty-third Amendment

The 1961 amendment giving the District of Columbia electors in presidential elections

Thornburg v. Gingles (1986)

The case that set the test for when the Voting Rights Act requires districts in which minority voters can elect their candidates of choice

Trump v. Anderson (2024)

The case holding that states cannot disqualify federal candidates under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, reversing Colorado's removal of Donald Trump from its ballot

Voting Rights Act of 1965

The landmark law that ended literacy tests, sent federal examiners into the South, and still bars voting rules that discriminate by race

Watson v. RNC (2026)

The 2026 case holding that federal Election Day laws do not stop states from counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day

States & Local (7)

Ballot Initiatives and Referendums

Forms of direct democracy that let voters propose and approve state laws and constitutional amendments, available in about half the states

Mayors and City Councils

The elected leaders of American cities, and the strong-mayor and weak-mayor systems that divide power between them

Recall Elections

Elections that let voters remove state or local officials before their terms end, available for state officials in about 19 states

School Boards and School Districts

The roughly 13,000 local school districts and elected boards that run public education, funded mainly by local property taxes and state aid

Secretaries of State

State officials who in most states run elections, register businesses, and keep official records, a role that drew national attention after 2020

State Legislatures

The lawmaking bodies of the fifty states, with 99 chambers and more than 7,000 members, ranging from full-time professional bodies to citizen legislatures

The District of Columbia

The federal capital district, governed by its own elected officials under the ultimate authority of Congress, with no voting representation in Congress

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