Sanity check - US election process

[cliffski]

Ok, I'm adding mid term elections for the US to Democracy this weekend, and I need a quick sanity check so I know my googling hasn't gone bad.
You have 100 senators and 435 representatives. every 2 years, 1/3rd of the senators and ALL of the reps, get re-elected. This happens in the mid-terms, and also happens AT THE SAME TIME as the presidential elections?
The reason I ask, is that we always hear about mid terms, and the presidential election, but if you also re-elect 435 reps and 33 senators on presidential election day, you sure keep that quiet.

Am I missing something? ir is this how it works? I'm guessing that the results of the house and senate elections on election day pretty much match the presidential result?
I'd hate to screw up the way it works and annoy all my American players!

[soniCron]

I'd hate to screw up the way it works and annoy all my American players! As if they'd notice. ;)

[papillon]

but if you also re-elect 435 reps and 33 senators on presidential election day, you sure keep that quiet.


That's because your average american has no idea who their senator/representative is. Many of them probably also don't know who's their mayor or their state governor. Many people don't care about local politics - and it isn't well reported in the media to try and make them care either.

They tick the appropriate box for whatever party they think they support on the rest of the positions while they're there to vote for President, pretty much.

If one of the candidates is particularly scandalous and the opposition ran a sufficiently nasty local ad campaign, MAYBE they'll have heard of one of the other candidates. :)

I know an awful lot more British politicians than American ones despite having lived here for a much shorter period of time. Your politics are much better reported and made interesting.

Of course, as I can't vote, I only know who my particular MP is because of my other half's constant grumbling about the tired and emotional fellow. :)

[cliffski]

ah cool, so that is exactly how it works then, it's just not fussed over?

[Hamumu]

Well, you talk about electing 435 reps, but people only vote for THEIR rep (the district they live in), so it's a vote for one person out of 1-4 or so. Same with senator, you only vote for the one for your state. And those races aren't much covered nationally (the rep ones especially), they're local/state news. Senators and Reps are usually more covered just in number terms, like "the Republicans took another 70 seats in this election by amazing pure luck, who would've thought they'd get 115% of the vote?"

[BlueWaldo]

The reason you don't hear about the Senate and House races is that they are normally won by the incumbant, so only a small percentage of the races are true races. Normally a party won't gain more than 5 seats in the Senate and 15 seats in the House.

[Stu]

I'm guessing that the results of the house and senate elections on election day pretty much match the presidential result?

I'm not sure what you mean by this. As Mike points out, only those who live in the appropriate voting district vote for a specific House Rep. or Senator. A House Rep. represents a Congressional District within a state. States may have anywhere from one (where the entire state is one Congressional District, like in Montana where the one rep. represents the entire state) to dozens of Congressional Districts (California has 53). Only those who live within that district vote for that office. Senators are "at large" and both Senators represent the entire state and are elected by the state they represent. (If you add the two Senators to the number of House Reps for any given state you have the number of electoral votes that state carries in the presidential election.)

For the reason I've described above, the results of the house and senate elections may not match the presidential result at all. House and senate elections depend far more on what part of the country those elections took place in. Rural, gun-loving, god-fearing districts and states tend to vote for Republican House Reps and Senators and largely urban areas tend to vote for Democratic House Reps and Senators. It may seem that if the rural folks and urban folks tend to vote this way on Congressional offices that they would vote this way on the presidential office so both elections would go the same way. The problem is that House Reps are elected based on the popular vote within their Congressional District, the Senators are elected based on the popular vote in their state and the president is elected based on the electoral votes of the fifty states. The lines are drawn differently for all three race. (I'm sure you know the president is not elected by popular vote) This can throw the obvious balance out of whack.

As far as coverage goes, Mike is correct again. It's not that they aren't widely reported, just that they are more likely to focus on which party won how many seats as opposed to the specific details of each election. It is not at all uncommon, however, to find extensive reporting of House and Senate races that are close. I don't believe at all that there is a lack of reporting of these races. I do understand that a large segment of our society doesn't care enough to follow it. (unfortunately) The mid-term elections this year should be exciting. (if you're a huge political nerd like me) The Democrats may take control of the Senate. (although depending on who you ask it is probably more likely that they will not) Key states with close races have been identified and are being closely watched. My own state of Missouri is one of those states. There are numerous political blogs that report on these races extensively.

PM me if you would like a free copy of ElectionStudio. It's got a couple of features that might give you a little perspective.

[Stu]

Normally a party won't gain more than 5 seats in the Senate and 15 seats in the House.

Unless half the country is pissed off. :D

[Tom Gilleland]

It might be cool to have a redistricting feature where the two parties fight over redrawing lines of a district. By reshaping a district a party has a lot of control over who wins. Some districts are really weird shaped.

Tom

[cliffski]

Thanks for all the replies. Basically Democracy makes a lot of simple assumptions (becuase it models so many different countries), and in this case I'm electing the representatives and the 1/3rd of the senate based on the popular support you have at the time, so the only real effect it has is at the new midterm elections where you could lose the senate or the house, yet still remain president.

[arcadetown]

Election rules logically correct. Senators 6 yr, House of Reps 2 yr, and President 4 yr all on second Tues of Nov.

2 yr house races can swing a president's fortune or misfortune big time. Presidential race is most talked about. Then local senators, house reps, state governors, and other local stuff. State governors are also a big story, most elected every 4 years but some every 6.

[GBGames]

Let Ben show you how: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/election/

Yes, it is technically for children, but I imagine it would be quicker than trying to read the actual laws themselves.