Are potholes on your street becoming a hazard? Is your park clean and safe? Can you get to work on public transport? Do you like the books available to (or being banned from)  students in the schools and libraries? Is the city paying attention to your neighborhood? This is what local city elections are all about.

Cities are grouped into Counties (called “parishes” in Louisiana). County elections decide who will be on the Board of Supervisors (who manage the budget among other things), the Sheriffs, District Attorney, Tax Collector and other important jobs.

State elections determine who will be Governor, members of the State Legislature (sometimes called the State Assembly), Treasurer, Attorrney General and more. The Constitution says that each State can make its own laws unless they conflict with a federal law. This is why requirements for voting , how elections are run and tallied, and many other social issues vary so much by State.

In Federal elections, the Presidency, one third of the Senate and all of the House of Representatives to Congress are up for election. Each State has two Senators but the number of Representatives is determined by the State’s proportion of the U.S. population after the most recent national census. If a vacancy arises on the Supreme Court, the President nominates a candidate who the Senate will either confirm or reject. We tend to decide whether or not we like a candidate based on personal characteristics – gender, age, looks, personality – but it’s most important to understand what issues and policies each candidate supports and opposes. (Check out “Candidates Who Match Your Values.”)

Federal Midterm elections occur two years after a President is elected, or halfway through their term. They are sometimes called “off-year” elections. Again, one third of Senators and all of the Representatives to Congress are up for re-election. Most of the buzz at the national level  is about which party will control Congress after the election. Why? Think of the President as the star on a team. Even stars need teammates to win.

Federal midterm elections determine, for the next two years, if the winners will be voting as members of the President’s team or the opposition – that is,  if the President’s programs and policies will get support or be blocked.