Guides, explainers, and analysis about how U.S. government works — and how to make yours work for you.
28 articles · Page 2 of 6
One chamber has 435 members up for re-election every two years. The other has 100 members serving staggered six-year terms. That single structural difference explains almost everything about how the two actually behave.
Every House seat. A third of the Senate. Roughly three dozen governors. And that's before you even get to your state legislature and the ballot measures near the bottom of the page. Here's the full scope of what's actually being decided on November 3, 2026.
New Hampshire's legislature meets for a few months a year and pays its members about $100. California's meets almost year-round with six-figure salaries and hundreds of staffers. Both are "state legislatures" — but they barely resemble each other.
Your U.S. Representative votes on national defense and federal taxes. Your state legislator votes on your driver's license rules, your kid's school funding, and whether your rent can be raised without notice. Most people can name the first and have never heard of the second.
Confused about who to call when the pothole on your street doesn't get fixed, or why Congress can't do anything about your local school board? Here's the actual division of labor between all three levels of American government.