United States of America: Senate, 8 November 2016

At stake in this election:

• 34 of the 100 seats in the Senate

Note on the results: The above results reflect the seats won by each party in this election. The current composition of the Senate is 48 Democrats, 51 Republicans.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009)
• Head of Government: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009)
• Assembly: The United States has a bicameral Congress consisting of the Senate with 100 seats and the House of Representatives with 435 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• For the Senate, two members are directly elected in each of the 50 states by simple majority vote. Members serve 6-year terms with one-third membership renewed every 2 years. 

Note: The states of Georgia and Louisiana are exceptions and require an absolute majority vote for election.

Last Election:

• Elections for the Senate were last held on 4 November 2014. In the 2014 elections, 33 seats were at stake following normal expiry of the term and 3 seats were at stake in special elections to fill vacancies for Hawaii, South Carolina, and Oklahoma. Following these elections, the Republican Party had 54 total seats, the Democratic Party had 44, and independents secured two seats.

Main parties in the election:

• Democratic Party
  • Leader: Harry REID (Senate); Nancy Pelosi (House)
  • Seats won in last election: 44
• Republican Party
  • Leader: Mitch MCCONNELL (Senate); Paul Ryan (House)
  • Seats won in last election: 54

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 323,995,528 (July 2016 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 190,669,639 (2014)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 164,304,770 (July 2016 est.)

·         Is the United States a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has the United States ratified CEDAW: No

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 84 (House of Representatives); 4 (Senate)

·         Human Development Index Position: 8

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is the United States a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 July 2009)

·         Has the United States ratified CRPD: No

·         Population with a disability: 48,599,329 (est.)