Election Day in the United States of America is the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. It can fall on or between November 2 and November 8. It is the day when popular ballots are held to select public officials. These include national, state, and local government representatives at all levels up to the president. On Tuesday November 8th, public schools will be closed because they are being used as polling places for voters to cast their ballots.

   This election is known as a midterm election because it falls in the middle of the presidential term. Midterm elections are important because they can change the majority vote in Congress. Every House Representative and ⅓ of the Senate is always up for reelection every 2 years. Currently, the majority vote in Congress belongs to Democrats in the House ( 220 Dems. 212 Reps. 2 Florida Democrats resigned in September and one Indiana Republican died in August. ) in the Senate however the division is more evenly split with a slight Democrat advantage ( Republicans 50 Democrats 48 Independents 2 VP Harris D ). Given the divided politics of the present day, if President Biden hopes for any progress on his agenda then he will need to maintain a democratic majority in Congress. (ALLSIDES.COM)

In the 2022 midterm elections, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. Thirty-six states and three territories will hold gubernatorial (governor’s) elections, and many other local elections will also be contested. Notably, this will be the first election involving the post-2020 U.S. Census redistricting. Democrats currently hold a 220-211 majority over Republicans in the House, and the Senate consists of 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and two Independents who both caucus with the Democrats. In the case of a 50-50 tie in the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris would serve as the tiebreaker. (Taken from Allsides.com).

How is Virginia Represented?

The map above shows the current Congressional districts for Virginia.  The 10th and 11th districts are both held by democrats and are in Northern Virginia. The 7th district represented by Democrat incumbent Abigail Spanberger is more closely contested in this election than the solidly Democratic 11th district held for the past 14 years by Representative Gerry Connolly. Each district has a similar population for equal representation.  The smaller district boundaries in blue show higher density and diversity of population making the majority of voters Democrats. The majority Republican districts are in more rural agricultural areas of the state and they are shaded in red.

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Most of the delegates to US Congress are Democrats (9) and the other part are Republicans. (4)Virginia has 2 Senators and 11 Representatives.   Virginia’s 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th districts will have very close races that could be decided by  independent swing voters.  AllSides.com has predicted that there is an 80% chance that the House will turn to a Republican majority after the 2022 election.

Party Politics, The Issues and the Results

Midterm elections often pose a challenge for the Presidential party in power because it is like a report card on all the campaign promises of two years ago. Given that the poll vote for President Biden was extremely low because of the recent inflation, it looks that this year’s election would have reflect historical normality. Many believed because of the issue about inflation happening, the election would more in favor to the republican party; surprisingly the poll came out being almost perfectly even in votes.

Allsides.com Swingers

The Senate race in Georgia is too close to call. It is unusual because the incumbent has only served since January 2021.  A senate term is 6 years.  The incumbent Senator Warnock was elected in a runoff election in January 2021 after the previous Senator resigned.

The Economy

Social Issues like healthcare and gun control

The Key to a Strong Democracy is Education

In FCPS, we commit to foster a responsive, caring, and inclusive culture where all feel valued, supported, and hopeful. To be successful at this we value the following:

• All students will feel respected and included at school.
• All families will feel respected at their school.
• All staff will feel respected at work.
• All staff will view student behavior through a culturally responsive lens.

The right to free speech is key to our democracy, and students are entitled to share their political views and support for political campaigns in ways that “do not interfere with the rights of others or the schools’ ability to provide a safe learning environment.” For more information on students’ rights in FCPS, see pages 10-11 of the Students’ Rights and Responsibilities.  The resources below help educators support student understanding and participation in democratic processes like constructive dialogue and voting.

• CSPAN Classroom: Midterm Elections 2022: The C-SPAN Education team is proud to bring you this website to help you learn more about the upcoming 2022 midterm elections! For more information on C-SPAN Classroom or for additional educational resources for your classroom, please visit the C-SPAN Classroom website or contact [email protected].

• Allsides 2022 Elections:  AllSides is providing balanced 2022 midterm election news and nationwide coverage of media bias on the key races to watch across the country.

• Bill of Rights Institute: Think the Vote Think the Vote is a website run by the Bill of Rights Institute. Our goal is to connect you with resources to think critically about the things going on around you

• ADL Voting Rights and the 2022 Elections  The ADL supports and promotes nonpartisan efforts to encourage voting and make voting safe and accessible, so that everyone is able to take part in this critical aspect of our democracy. This is especially important at this time, as we work to overcome obstacles that could negatively impact fair access to the ballot.

• Global Democracy Index:  The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories, measuring pluralism, civil liberties and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorizes each country into one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes.

Contibutors to this publication include:

RS (chief editor)

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ICD

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