Legislative+Elections

=Senate=

Senators were originally selected by state legislation, and not by popular vote. Popular election to the senate did not become popular until the yearly 20th century. Every four years, during an even numbered year, the Senate has an election. However, only one-third of the Senate seats are available during an election. This is because the Senate can be broken down into three classes; one-third of the seats are up for election after two years, one-third for election every four years, and the last third is up for election every six years. The system works most efficiently when elections are staggered in this way. A member that has been elected but not seated is referred to as a senator-elect, while a member who has been appointed, but not yet seated is referred to as a senate-designate. In most states a primary election is first held for the democratic and republic parties. A general election is held a few months later. The seventeenth amendment requires mid-term vacancies in the Senate to be filled with a special election. Whoever is elected in the special election would start serving immediately, until the end of the term. A Senator may be expelled by a two-thirds vote. 1

=**The House of Representatives**=

Every four years the House seats are up for election. The number of representatives of each states depends on the states population. Some states such as Maine only have two representatives, while California has 53 representatives. There is a representative for each district in the state. Each district has to have roughly the same population, so each district has the same number of voters. 2

1- Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014. 2-"How Is the US House of Representatives Elected?" Answers. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.