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United States midterm elections
United States midterm elections
United States midterm elections are congressional elections held halfway between presidential elections.
Roles and functions
Midterm elections determine the makeup of Congress, whose two chambers—the House of Representatives and the Senate—write federal laws and control federal spending.
How it works
House members serve two-year terms. All 435 House seats are contested in every midterm and presidential election year.
The Senate has 100 members, two from each state, serving staggered six-year terms. A different third is elected every two years, so a state's voters do not necessarily have a Senate election on every midterm ballot.
Background and related concepts
In a historical comparison beginning in 1944, Al Jazeera reports average turnout of about 42 percent in midterm elections, compared with 58 percent in presidential elections. The comparison does not specify its final election year.
Al Jazeera describes midterm elections as widely considered a referendum on the sitting president's performance.
References
Related stories
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