Changes

== "Midterm" Elections ==

== "Midterm" Elections ==

The Tuesday after the first Monday in November this year is November 2, and that is Election Day.  All 435 House seats are up for election, and 33 out of 100 (U.S.) Senate seats are likewise on the ballot.  The president is not on the ballot because this year, 2010, is not divisible by 4; the presidential term is 4 years and Barack Obama was elected to that position in 2008.

The Tuesday after the first Monday in November this year is November 2, and that is Election Day.  All 435 House seats are up for election, and at least 33 out of 100 (U.S.) Senate seats are likewise on the ballot. (Sometimes more Senate seats are on the ballot due to special elections to fill vacancies; without vacancies the number would be 33 one year, 33 two years later, and 34 two years after that.) The president is not on the ballot because this year, 2010, is not divisible by 4; the presidential term is 4 years and Barack Obama was elected to that position in 2008.

Due to gerrymandering, however, less than 100 out of the 435 House seats are "in play," such that either party could win it.  Gerrymandering is one many new terms you will learn as part of this course.  Its name comes from a cartoon making fun of Governor Eldridge Gerry of Massachusetts in 1812, who signed into law a redistricting for state that used odd shapes in order to help his political party be elected.  This is possible because voting patterns become predictable over time:  many neighborhoods are known to vote heavily Democratic or heavily Republican based on prior elections.   

Due to gerrymandering, however, less than 100 out of the 435 House seats are "in play," such that either party could win it.  Gerrymandering is one many new terms you will learn as part of this course.  Its name comes from a cartoon making fun of Governor Eldridge Gerry of Massachusetts in 1812, who signed into law a redistricting for state that used odd shapes in order to help his political party be elected.  This is possible because voting patterns become predictable over time:  many neighborhoods are known to vote heavily Democratic or heavily Republican based on prior elections.