Elections in the United States
The United States is a federation, with elected officials at the federal (national), state and local levels. On a national level, the head of state, the President, is elected indirectly by the people, through an Electoral College. Today, the electors virtually always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, the Congress, are directly elected. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective Governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at the local level, in counties and cities. According to political science professor Jennifer Lawless, there were 519,682 elected officials in the United States as of 2012.
State law regulates most aspects of the election, including primaries, the eligibility of voters (beyond the basic constitutional definition), the running of each state's electoral college, and the running of state and local elections. The United States Constitution defines (to a basic extent) how federal elections are held, in Article One and Article Two and various amendments. The federal government has also been involved in attempts to increase voter turnout, by measures such as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
United States elections, 2013
The 2013 United States general elections were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. This off-year election featured several special elections to the United States Congress; two gubernatorial races; state legislative elections in a few states; and numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local offices on the ballot.
The Democrats picked up the governorship in Virginia as Terry McAuliffe was elected to replace term-limited Republican Bob McDonnell. Meanwhile, Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was re-elected to a second term.
Congressional special elections were held throughout the year. In total, two Senate seats and six House seats were contested, but none of them changed party hands.
113th Congress
Special Senate
Massachusetts
On December 21, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Massachusetts U.S. Senator John Kerry as Secretary of State. Kerry was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 29, 2013, by a vote of 94-3. Following the vote, Kerry resigned his Senate seat effective at February 1, 2013, at 4 p.m. Massachusetts law required a special election within 145 to 160 days after the vacancy occurred and allowed Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint an interim senator until the winner of the special election can be sworn in. Patrick announced on January 30, 2013, that he would appoint his former Chief of Staff Mo Cowan to serve as the interim Senator. Cowan was sworn-in by Vice President of the United States Joe Biden on February 7, 2013. Cowan did not run in the special election.Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin set the dates for the election with the primaries on April 30, 2013, and the general election on June 25, 2013.
United States elections, 2009
The 2009 United States general elections were held on Tuesday, November 3. During this off-year election, the only seats up for election in the United States Congress were special elections held throughout the year. In total, only the seat representing New York's 23rd congressional district changed party hands, increasing the Democratic Party's majority over the Republicans in the United States House of Representatives, 258–177.
However, there were also several gubernatorial races and state legislative elections, and numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races in several major cities, and several types of local offices on the ballot.
United States Congress
In total, there were five special elections to the United States House of Representatives during 2009. The only election which changed party hands (from Republican to Democratic) was in New York's 23rd congressional district.
Also, a primary election was held in Massachusetts on December 8, 2009, for the senate seat left open by the death of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy; the general special election for that later seat occurred on January 19, 2010.
