Nearly 250 million people in the United States are eligible to vote in the crucial midterm elections that will determine the makeup of the 118th US Congress. In-person election day is Nov. 8, with many voters voting by mail or through drop boxes. The election results will set the tone for the rest of US President Joe Biden’s first term as president. His Democratic Party held a slim majority in the US House of Representatives and Senate. If opposition Republicans win majorities in either house, they have said they will block Biden’s agenda. Americans will also choose candidates in various federal, state and local elections. All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives are up for re-election along with 35 seats in the Senate. One of them is for a four-year term rather than the usual six-year term, as the new senator will replace a retiring one. A second special Senate election covers the California seat for six weeks between Election Day and the start of the new Congress. The position was vacated by Vice President Kamala Harris and has been held by an appointee. Thirty-six states and three territories will choose a governor.
The US House of Representatives
Voters in all 50 states will elect lawmakers to the House of Representatives. There are 435 seats in total and each seat is up for election every two years. This year’s general election reflects redistricting based on the results of the 2020 Census, potentially shifting the balance of power in several states.
The US Senate
There are 35 Senate seats up for grabs this year, about a third of the 100-seat body. Republicans currently hold 50 seats, Democrats 48 seats, with two more independents sitting in the House with the Democrats. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Senate leader and a Democrat, casts the deciding vote in any 50-50 tie.
Races of governors
The most critical non-federal election this year will choose the governors who will run the executive branches of each state government. Voters in 36 states and three territories — Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa — will elect governors in this midterm election. Governors are the executive heads of a state or territory with varying powers depending on the jurisdiction, including making policy, controlling the budget, and appointing officials and judges. US governors serve four-year terms except for Vermont and New Hampshire, where terms are two years.
How high is voter turnout in midterm elections?
Voter turnout for midterm elections has hovered around 40 percent of the eligible voting population in recent elections. In 2018, in a historic turnout, 50 percent of voters participated, compared to 36.7 percent in 2016.
Basic issues
2022 saw the start of the war in Ukraine, continued gun violence in the US, record numbers of refugees and migrants at the US-Mexico border, and a landmark Supreme Court decision that rolled back the nation’s right to abortion. But ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, voters clearly have one thing on their minds: their wallets. The Reuters/Ipsos survey data shows that inflation and the economy are far and away the most pressing issues among those who say they are likely to vote. In a Pew Research Center poll, 79 percent of 3,993 registered voters surveyed said the economy was their top issue, with Republicans more likely to benefit if that was the deciding issue. For each key issue, the October survey asked “if the election were held today, would _________ vote in their district?”
