This year, in addition to choosing between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to become the next US president, American voters also elected congressional seats.
Unlike presidential elections held every four years, US congressional elections take place every two years. In each election, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate seats are up for election.
In the current US Congress, the Democratic Party controls the Senate, with 51 senators (including a coalition of 47 Democrats and 4 independents). In the House of Representatives, the Republicans won majority control after the 2022 election, currently with 220 seats, while the Democrats have 212 seats, with 3 vacancies.
Voters in Georgia cast their ballots in the 2022 US midterm elections
CNN on November 4 cited statistics from the election analysis site Inside Elections indicating that in this year's House of Representatives race, the Democratic Party has the advantage in 208 positions, while the Republican Party has 212. With the remaining 15 positions considered to be closely contested, the new House of Representatives is likely to have a majority party but will not create too large a gap in the number of senators.
In the Senate, each elected senator serves a six-year term. Of the 34 seats up for re-election this year, Democrats are defending 20, while Republicans are defending 13. The pressure is said to be on the Democrats, as losing just two seats after the final results would give Republicans a majority in the Senate.
However, with the possibility of the winning party creating an overwhelming majority unlikely, observers have mentioned an important rule in the Senate, the “filibuster” procedure. This rule refers to the fact that senators can extend debate indefinitely when making laws.
It takes 60 senators to end debate and move to a vote, which could lead to a scenario where the opposition could use this to drag out and block a bill they don’t agree with. When a bill reaches the vote, it only needs a majority of 51 votes to pass. If the vote is 50-50, the president of the Senate, who is also the vice president at the time, has the deciding vote.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cuoc-bau-cu-my-nam-2024-khong-chi-bau-tong-thong-185241104155418893.htm
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