Just two years after President Joe Biden entered the White House, election season returns to USA with the intermediate general elections next Tuesday, November 8.
Why are the midterm elections on Tuesday?
US federal law provides that on Election Day or Election Day by law shall be held “on the Tuesday following the first Monday of the month of November”, which is equivalent to the Tuesday that occurs between November 2 and 8. This year, it will be the 8th.
Originally, election days varied by state, but in 1845 a law was passed to establish a single election day for the entire country. In accordance with Britannica, with the United States still being a largely agrarian society, November was a good time to vote because the harvest was over.
Secondly, Tuesday was chosen as Election Day so that voters could attend church on Sunday, travel to the polling place on Monday, and vote on Tuesday, before Wednesday, the day on which farmers generally sold their produce at the market. In addition, election day was specified as a Tuesday “after the first Monday” to avoid it falling on November 1, All Saints’ Day.
USA Midterm Elections 2022: what positions are elected this year?
For months, primary elections were held in the country, in which the Republican and Democratic candidates who will seek in the general elections a place or re-election in the House of Representatives, in the Senate, as well as in the governorship of some states and three territories of the United States, in addition to other local offices by county and city.
This year, 34 of the 100 Senate seats are up for grabs for elections, while all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs in the general election.
Also, 36 states will hold gubernatorial elections: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan , Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming, as well as three territories: Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands.
It may interest you: Midterm 2022 Elections: Check Early Voting Dates by State