Government & politics — United States

• history: previous 1781 (Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union); latest drafted July - September 1787, submitted to the Congress of the Confederation 20 September 1787, submitted for states' ratification 28 September 1787, ratification completed by nine of the 13 states 21 June 1788,
• effective 4 March 1789 amendments: proposed as a "joint resolution" by Congress, which requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by at least two thirds of the state legislatures; passage requires ratification by three fourths of the state legislatures or passage in state-held constitutional conventions as specified by Congress; the US president has no role in the constitutional amendment process; amended many times, last in 1992

• common law system based on English common law at the federal level
• state legal systems based on common law, except Louisiana, where state law is based on Napoleonic civil code
• judicial review of legislative acts

• chief of state: Preside
• President Donald J. TRUMP (since 20 January 2025) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president,
• approved by the Senate election/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected on the same ballot by the Electoral College of electors chosen from each state; president and vice president serve a 4-yea
• r term (eligible for a second term) most recent election date: 5
• November 2024 election results: 2024: Donald J. TRUMP elected president; electoral vote - Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 312, Kamala HARRIS (Democratic Party) 226; percent of direct popular vote - Donald J. TRUMP 49.8%, Kamala HARRIS 48.3%, other 1.9% 2020: Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. elected president; electoral vote - Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (Democratic Party) 306, Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 232; percent of direct popular vote - Joseph R. BIDEN Jr. 51.3%, Donald J. TRUMP 46.9%, other 1.8%
• expected date of next election: 7
• November 2028 note: the president is both chief of state and head of government

Description

bicameral Congress consists of: Senate (100 seats; 2 members directly elected in each of the 50 state constituencies by simple majority vote except in Georgia and Louisiana which require an absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 6-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 2 years) House of Representatives (435 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote except in Georgia which requires an absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 2-year terms)

Elections

• Senate - last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on 5 November 2024) House of Representatives - last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on 5 November 2024)

Election Results

• - Senate - percent of vote by party - NA
• seats by party - Democratic Party 51, Republican Party 49
• composition as of February 2024 - men 75, women 25, percentage women 25% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA
• seats by party - Republican Party 222, Democratic Party 213
• composition as of February 2024 - men 305, women 126, percentage women 29.2%
• total US Congress percentage women 28.4%

Note

• in addition to the regular members of the House of Representatives there are 6 non-voting delegates elected from the District of Columbia and the US territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands
• these are single seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote to serve a 2-year term (except for the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico who serves a 4-year term)
• the delegate can vote when serving on a committee and when the House meets as the Committee of the Whole House, but not when legislation is submitted for a “full floor” House vote
• election of delegates last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on 3 November 2024)

• highest court(s): US Supreme Court (consists of 9 justices - the chief justice
• and 8 associate justices) judge selection and term of office: president nominates and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints Supreme Court justices;
• justices serve for life subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (includes the US Court of Appeal for the Federal District and 12 regional appeals courts); 94
• federal district courts in 50 states and territories note: the US court system consists of the federal court system and the state court systems; although each court system is responsible for hearing certain types of cases, neither is completely independent of the other, and the systems often interact

Summary

50 states

Regions or States

• and 1 district*
• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia*
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

• Democratic Party [Jaime HARRISON]
• Green Party [collective leadership]
• Libertarian Party [Angela McARDLE]
• Republican Party [Michael WHATLEY]

• yes dual citizenship recognized: no, but the US government acknowledges such situtations exist; US citizens are not encouraged to seek dual citizenship since it limits
• protection by the US residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

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