At Stake in this Election: 

• 34 of 100 seats in the United States Senate 

Elections for the Presidency and the House of Representatives are occurring concurrently. 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (since 20 January 2021) 

• Head of Government: President Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (since 20 January 2021) 

• Assembly: bicameral Congress with 100 seat Senate and 435 seat House of Representatives 

Electoral System:  

• The President is indirectly elected by majority vote of electors in the Electoral College. Each state is given a number of electors equal to the number of members in congress from said state. The District of Columbia is also given 3 electors. Electors are elected by the public of each state and generally vote in accordance with their state’s popular vote. The President is elected to a 4-year term. 

• All 100 members of the Senate are generally elected by plurality vote in single-seat constituencies. They are elected to 6-year terms. Approximately a third are up for election every 2 years. 

• All 435 members of the House of Representatives are generally elected by plurality vote in single-seat constituencies. They are elected to 2-year terms. 

Last Election:  

In the last Senate election, The Republican party won 20 of the 35 seats up for election. Despite this, the Democratic Party held their majority with 51 seats. Voter turnout was 38%. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: Varies by state. 

• Voter registration deadline: Varies by state. 

Main Parties in this Election: 

• The Republican Party 

• • Leader: Mitch MCCONNELL 

• • Seats won in the last election: 20 seats out of 100 

• The Democratic Party 

• • Leader: Chuck SCHUMER 

• • Seats won in the last election: 15 seats out of 100 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 334,914,895 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 168,303, 000 (2024 est.) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 169,134,944 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 17 Jul 1980  

• Gender Quota: No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 25 of 100 (25%) in the Senate and 126 of 435 (29%) in the House of Representatives  

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.927, Very High, rank 20 (2024) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 19.1 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 Jul 2009 

• Projected population with a disability: 53,586,383 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in the United States of America: Yes, IFES headquarters  

• Election Access: Yes 

• ElectionJudgments: Yes, 24 judgements