On November 3, United States citizens will vote in the midterm elections.
asserted
citizens → vote → elections
These won't decide who gets to sit in the White House; instead, Americans will be voting on who they want to see in the Capitol.
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they → decide → Capitol
Midterm elections are held every four years, at the exact halfway point between presidential elections.
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elections → hold → elections
The people of the United States decide who will represent them in the two chambers of the US Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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who → decide → Representatives
Some states are also voting for their governor.
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states → vote → governor
These are the decisions on the ballot paper — but they are not the only thing voters will be taking into account.
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voters → take → account
J. Miles Coleman, an election analyst at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, explained before the last midterms that they were "often a referendum on the president and party currently in power."
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they → explain → power
If the people are content, the party of the leader in the White House does better than if the people are predominantly dissatisfied.
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people → do → House
Who are Americans electing in the midterms?
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Americans → elect → midterms
Its 435 members are elected by eligible voters across the country.
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members → elect → country
Each member represents one electoral district.
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member → represent → district
These are allocated based on population size.
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These → allocate → size
As a result, relatively large US states where few people live, such as Wyoming, have only one seat in the House of Representatives.
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people → live → Representatives
New Jersey, a much smaller state by surface area but with a larger population, has 12.
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Jersey → have → 12
Representatives are elected for a two-year term of office.
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Representatives → elect → office
US senators, on the other hand, are elected for a six-year term.
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senators → elect → term
The Senate, the other chamber of the US Congress, has 100 seats: two for each of the 50 US states, regardless of size.
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Senate → have → size
Around one third of these senatorial seats come up for election every two years.
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one → come → election
This year there are 35, meaning that not every state will be electing a senator in these midterms.
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state → be → midterms
Separately, voters in 36 states will elect their governor, whose term of office is four years in most states.
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term → elect → states
Many decisions in the US are taken at state level, on everything from abortion law to education and electoral procedure.
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decisions → take → education
It can therefore make a considerable difference to people's lives whether Democrats or Republicans are the ones making these decisions in their state.
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Democrats → make → state
Who currently has a majority in the US Congress?
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Who → have → Congress
At present, the Republicans, the party of President Trump, have a majority in both houses of Congress — but its margin is slim.
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margin → have → Congress
The House of Representatives currently has 218 Republican deputies, 214 Democrats, and one independent, who usually votes with the Republicans.
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who → have → Republicans
Observers think it likely that the Democrats will seize the majority in this chamber in the upcoming elections.
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Democrats → think → elections
"It would be a surprise if the Democrats don't at least take the House [of Representatives]," Coleman told the American broadcaster CBS at the end of October.
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Coleman → take → October
In the Senate there are currently 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independent senators who usually vote with the Democrats.
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who → be → Democrats
When a vote in the Senate is deadlocked 50:50, the US vice president has the deciding vote.
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president → deadlocke → vote
This means that currently, Trump's Vice President JD Vance would tip the scales if there were a tie in a Senate vote.
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Vance → mean → vote
Voter turnout is typically lower for midterms than for presidential elections, but the results will decisively influence US politics for the next few years.
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results → influence → years
Despite the significant executive power delegated to the presidency, the majority of federal political decisions have to be approved by Congress before they can be implemented.
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they → delegate → Congress
It is therefore considerably easier for Trump to govern the country as he chooses if the Republicans have a majority in both chambers of Congress.
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Republicans → govern → Congress
If the Democrats win a majority in one or both chambers, it will be more difficult for him to make changes to either domestic or foreign policy.
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him → win → policy
The Democrats only need to win four more seats in the House of Representatives to gain a majority.
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Democrats → need → majority
They would then have 218 representatives.
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They → have → representatives
Out of the 435 races, only a few are still considered toss-ups.
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few → consider → races
These include districts in Iowa, Virginia and Montana.
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These → include → Iowa
One senatorial race to watch is the one in Texas.
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race → watch → Texas
Current polls put Democrat James Talarico level with his Republican rival, Ken Paxton.
asserted
polls → put → rival
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
