What are the Mid-Term Elections All About?

I’m sure we’ve all been anxiously counting down the days until Election Day 2020. But the mid-term elections take place this November, and this round of elections has the potential to dramatically shift the political party power of the US Congress.

In these elections, we will choose House of Representatives members, Senate members, state governors along with state legislation, and other government positions on the state level.

Although every vote cast is important, the elections for the members of the House and the Senate will affect us the most finishing off our last Trump years. Congress, which is made up of The House of Representatives and the Senate, is the Legislative branch of our government. It shares power with the Supreme Court (Judicial branch) and the president (Executive branch). Collectively, the three works together to keep this nation moving smoothly by running a sort of checks and balances for the government – keeping one branch from becoming too powerful.

For example, the president may veto a law passed by Congress, but Congress can override that veto with a vote of two-thirds of both houses.

With all the fuss about Trump’s choice for the recent vacant Supreme Court seat, Brett Kavanaugh, we need to remember that his appointment to that position can remain consistently under check with a House or Senate made up of mainly Democrats.

CONGRESS IN NUMBERS

I’ll try to be brief, the most important thing is power in numbers and we have the power to shift the numbers how we see fit.

FACTS ABOUT THE SENATE

The Senate is made up of 100 members. Each state gets two representatives for the Senate and they serve 6-year terms. The only qualifications are: 1) be at least 30-years old, 2) be a US citizen, and 3) have residency in the state represented.

Currently, there are 51 Republican seats, 47 Democrat seats, and 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats. As of now, the Senate is Republican, and it has a strong chance of staying that way. While there will be 23 Democrat seats up for grabs during the election, only 8 members of the Republican party will have completed their terms this year.

FACTS ABOUT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House of Representatives is made up of 435 members, providing representation based on population for their home-state, giving more clout to the larger states. They are chosen from their state’s specific districts. They only serve 2-year terms. The qualifications for this position are: 1) be at least 25-years old, 2) US citizenship for the past 7 years, and 3) be a resident of the represented state.

Currently, there are 236 Republican seats, 193 Democrat seats, and 6 seats vacant. This leaves the House wide open for the Democratic Party to take over.

WHO’S VOTING?

In these mid-term elections, not every state gets a chance to vote for members of the Senate. Remember, certain members from certain states have served their terms and need to be replaced. The House voting is a little different. Since it made up of so many members, we can choose from candidates designated within the district of where we live.

STATES WITH OPENING SENATE SEATS

Arizona	Maine	Montana	Ohio	Virginia
California	Maryland	Nebraska	Pennsylvania	Washington
Connecticut	Massachusetts	Nevada	Rhode Island	West Virginia
Delaware	Michigan	New Jersey	Tennessee	Wisconsin
Florida	Minnesota	New Mexico	Texas	Wyoming
Hawaii	Mississippi	New York	Utah
Indiana	Missouri	North Dakota	Vermont

Every state won’t get a chance to vote for a new governor either, only those who have a governor who has served his or her term fully

STATES WITH GOVERNOR ELECTIONS

Alabama	Guam	Maryland	New York	South Dakota
Alaska	Georgia	Massachusetts	Northern Mariana Islands	Tennessee
Arizona	Hawaii	Michigan	Ohio	Texas
Arkansas	Idaho	Minnesota	Oklahoma	Vermont
California	Illinois	Nevada	Oregon	Wisconsin
Colorado	Iowa	Nebraska	Pennsylvania	Wyoming
Connecticut	Kansas	New Hampshire	Rhode Island
Florida	Maine	New Mexico	South Carolina

And if your state doesn’t have any of these choices to make, there are other issues on the ballot that deserve attention and could truly change things in your city. But your vote needs to be heard. 

Ballotpedia is a comprehensive website that can answer any question about voting trends, public polls, and specific information about voting in the years prior. Their most convenient tool is the Sample Ballot Lookup. For those who wish to be prepared on election day, this search engine will use your address to determine your district and the options that will appear on your ballot in November. That gives you a chance to look up those pesky state amendments that they try to toss in there to throw you off. And you can research the views of the candidates before you blindly choose at the polls. You can understand what you’re voting for ahead of time!

Whether you vote Democrat or Republican, make sure you’re choosing someone with the same values that you want to see in this country, because they will be running it. Now there’s no reason everyone shouldn’t be out there on November 6th, making informed decisions and keeping democracy alive!

Primary Election Day: August 28, 2018
General Election day: November 6, 2018

The Primary Election is held 10 weeks before the general elections for purposes of nominating party nominees to be voted for in the general election.