The American midterm elections are less than a month away. But what are they, and how do American elections work?
The United States holds federal elections every two years. Every four years, the country elects its president; in between, it holds so-called “Midterm” elections. Like the half-time in a sports game, these midterms play an important role in American politics. Often seen as a referendum on the party that holds the presidency, they can radically change the ability of presidents to govern. Here is a look into how the complicated electoral system of the United States works.
Power in the States
All elections in the United States are administered at the state level. That means state governments decide how voters register, where and at when people vote, and the date of primary elections . The date of the federal general elections are fixed on the first Tuesday after a Monday in November.
States also make the rules for how elections work in their state—which is why voting looks very different in different parts of the country. In every state except Louisiana, so-called primary elections are held before the general election to determine which candidates will appear on the ballot. States determine the number of voting locations, if voters are allowed to vote early on days that may be more convenient for their work schedules, and whether or not to allow voting by mail (known as “absentee” voting). All states except North Dakota require voters to register before they vote, but some still allow voters to register on the day as the election. Some states, like Oregon, make it very easy to vote, automatically registering voters and mailing ballots to everyone, while other states, often in Southern states with a long history of voter suppression, make it hard to vote, requiring multiple kinds of government-issued identification to register and limiting the number of voting locations.
State and local governments can also pick the method of voting. In most places, elections are “first-past-the-post,” meaning the highest vote getter (with or without a majority) wins the election. Some states use ranked-choice voting for federal, state, and local elections. This system lets voters rank candidates in order of preference, and the winner is the consensus candidate. The type of voting system influences whether successful candidates tend to come from the center or the poles of the political spectrum.
This patchwork set of laws means that voters often have to learn new election rules when they move between states.
Redistricting: New maps every 10 years
Every decade, the United States takes a census of its population. This census is then used as a guide to draw new electoral maps. The last US census was in 2020 and so these midterms are the first federal election with the new electoral districts. That means some incumbent candidates are suddenly representing new groups of voters and need to get to know their new districts as part of the election campaign. These new districts will be used until 2032—the first midterm after the 2030 census.
Like with voting systems, states choose how to draw new districts in a process called redistricting. When drawing new maps, states must make sure that districts are contiguous, compact, and equally populated. Some use commissions, but in the majority of states, it is state legislatures that draw the new districts. And because state legislatures are partisan, political bodies, they tend to draw districts to advantage or disadvantage the political party in power. That kind of partisan redistricting is called gerrymandering, and it is very common. As a result, most races in the House of Representatives—where every seat is up for election every two years—are not competitive. It’s also why control of Congress is decided in a few, specific set of districts called “swing districts,” where the vote is actually still competitive. States can also lose or gain seats in the House of Representatives based on population growth measured in the census. For example, Texas gained two new seats in the House this year, while New York lost one.
This is also why primaries are so important. In most primaries, voters who are registered with one party vote among different candidates to decide which will represent the party in the general election. As most races for the House of Representatives and state legislatures are not competitive, these primaries are often when elections are decided.
Because of this, redistricting plays an especially important role in determining the party makeup of American legislatures. The process is highly contentious. In Ohio, an extreme example, new maps were struck down by their state supreme court five times for being too gerrymandered, and the state is technically holding this year’s elections in unconstitutional districts.
Picking candidates: Primaries
Candidates for general elections, which decide who will hold office, are picked in primary elections. These elections take place sometime before the general election in the same year. Just like general elections, primary elections are administered by the state government. Different states and state parties can have different rules governing their primaries. In some states, you register as a party member when you register to vote, and this allows you to vote in your party’s primary. This is called a “closed primary.” In others, voters may choose on the day of the primary election which primary they want to vote in. This is called an “open primary,” and it is the most common type.
But some states have entirely different systems. In California, all candidates from all parties run in one primary, with the top-two vote getters moving on to the general election. Louisiana has its own system with runoff elections. And in some states, it gets even more complicated: each party has its own rules for its primarý In Oklahoma, for example, the state’s Democratic Party allows all registered Democrats and people not registered with a party to vote in its primary (a semi-closed primary), while the Republican Party only lets registered Republicans vote in its primary (a closed primary).Meanwhile, the state of Louisiana does not have primary elections, but has runoffs when candidates fail to win a majority in the general election.
During presidential election years states hold their primaries closer together to maximize their importance, but in midterm elections, primaries are very spread out. Texas voted first on March 1, and three states in the Northeast voted last on September 13. Most primaries take place in the late spring and summer.
Money: Billions in the campaign
The last important structural factor in the 2022 midterms is the cost of running for office. American elections are some of the most expensive in the world, costing millions of dollars to compete in House and Senate elections. The 2022 midterms alone will cost over $9.3 billion according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit research group that tracks money in American elections.
Where does that money come from, and who spends it? Individuals, corporations, unions, and many other groups all donate to campaigns. Some goes directly to candidates and their campaigns, funding things like field operations, radio and TV ads, and staff. Important money comes from the parties as well, and political analysts pay close attention to where parties choose to allocate resources in the final stretch.
But large sums also come from outside groups. Ever since the landmark 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC, so-called Super PACs (political action committees) can accept and spend an unlimited amount of money on behalf of candidates or issues, as long as they do not directly coordinate with the campaigns they support. In essence, the court decision has led to a parallel campaign structure that funnels huge amounts of money into local races. These outside groups have already spent over $1 billion to influence the 2022 elections, often focusing on buying ads to support their candidates and issues.
The highly decentralized and complicated electoral process in the US is confusing even to Americans. One thing is certain: on Election Night on November 8th, votes will be counted and a new Congress will be elected.