✶ Structure
Power in the United States is split twice: across three federal branches, and between the federal government and fifty states — which in turn delegate to counties, cities, school boards and special districts. Each office has its own road to power.
Article I · U.S. Constitution
Writes the laws, sets taxes and spending, declares war, confirms appointments, and can impeach and remove officials.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson 
Senate Majority Leader John Thune Photos: All public domain (official portraits: U.S. Congress via the unitedstates project). Via Wikimedia Commons and congress.gov.
Lisa Murkowski 
Dan Sullivan 
Tommy Tuberville 
Katie Boyd Britt 
John Boozman 
Tom Cotton 
Mark Kelly 
Ruben Gallego 
Alex Padilla 
Adam B. Schiff 
Michael F. Bennet 
John W. Hickenlooper 
Richard Blumenthal 
Christopher Murphy 
Christopher A. Coons 
Lisa Blunt Rochester 
Rick Scott 
Ashley Moody 
Jon Ossoff 
Raphael G. Warnock 
Brian Schatz 
Mazie K. Hirono 
Chuck Grassley 
Joni Ernst 
Mike Crapo 
James E. Risch 
Richard J. Durbin 
Tammy Duckworth 
Todd Young 
Jim Banks 
Jerry Moran 
Roger Marshall 
Mitch McConnell 
Rand Paul 
Bill Cassidy 
John Kennedy 
Elizabeth Warren 
Edward J. Markey 
Chris Van Hollen 
Angela D. Alsobrooks 
Susan M. Collins 
Angus S. King, Jr. 
Gary C. Peters 
Elissa Slotkin 
Amy Klobuchar 
Tina Smith 
Josh Hawley 
Eric Schmitt 
Roger F. Wicker 
Cindy Hyde-Smith 
Steve Daines 
Tim Sheehy 
Thom Tillis 
Ted Budd 
John Hoeven 
Kevin Cramer 
Deb Fischer 
Pete Ricketts 
Jeanne Shaheen 
Margaret Wood Hassan 
Cory A. Booker 
Andy Kim 
Martin Heinrich 
Ben Ray Luján 
Catherine Cortez Masto 
Jacky Rosen 
Charles E. Schumer 
Kirsten E. Gillibrand 
Bernie Moreno 
Jon Husted 
James Lankford 
Alan Armstrong 
Ron Wyden 
Jeff Merkley 
John Fetterman 
David McCormick 
Jack Reed 
Sheldon Whitehouse 
Tim Scott 
Darline Graham John Thune 
Mike Rounds 
Marsha Blackburn 
Bill Hagerty 
John Cornyn 
Ted Cruz 
Mike Lee 
John R. Curtis 
Mark R. Warner 
Tim Kaine 
Bernard Sanders 
Peter Welch 
Patty Murray 
Maria Cantwell 
Ron Johnson 
Tammy Baldwin 
Shelley Moore Capito 
James C. Justice 
John Barrasso 
Cynthia M. Lummis Photos: All public domain (official portraits: U.S. Congress via the unitedstates project). Via Wikimedia Commons and congress.gov.
Nicholas J. Begich III 
Barry Moore 
Shomari Figures 
Mike Rogers 
Robert B. Aderholt 
Dale W. Strong 
Gary J. Palmer 
Terri A. Sewell 
Eric A. "Rick" Crawford 
J. French Hill 
Steve Womack 
Bruce Westerman 
Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen 
David Schweikert 
Elijah Crane 
Yassamin Ansari 
Greg Stanton 
Andy Biggs 
Juan Ciscomani 
Adelita S. Grijalva 
Abraham J. Hamadeh 
Paul A. Gosar 
Jared Huffman 
Kevin Kiley 
Mike Thompson 
Tom McClintock 
Ami Bera 
Doris O. Matsui 
John Garamendi 
Josh Harder 
Mark DeSaulnier 
Nancy Pelosi 
Lateefah Simon 
Adam Gray 
Aisha Wahab 
Kevin Mullin 
Sam T. Liccardo 
Ro Khanna 
Zoe Lofgren 
Jimmy Panetta 
Vince Fong 
Jim Costa 
David G. Valadao 
Jay Obernolte 
Salud O. Carbajal 
Raul Ruiz 
Julia Brownley 
George Whitesides 
Judy Chu 
Luz M. Rivas 
Laura Friedman 
Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. 
Brad Sherman 
Pete Aguilar 
Jimmy Gomez 
Norma J. Torres 
Ted Lieu 
Sydney Kamlager-Dove 
Linda T. Sánchez 
Mark Takano 
Young Kim 
Ken Calvert 
Robert Garcia 
Maxine Waters 
Nanette Diaz Barragán 
Derek Tran 
J. Luis Correa 
Dave Min 
Darrell Issa 
Mike Levin 
Scott H. Peters 
Sara Jacobs 
Juan Vargas 
Diana DeGette 
Joe Neguse 
Jeff Hurd 
Lauren Boebert 
Jeff Crank 
Jason Crow 
Brittany Pettersen 
Gabe Evans 
John B. Larson 
Joe Courtney 
Rosa L. DeLauro 
James A. Himes 
Jahana Hayes 
Eleanor Holmes Norton 
Sarah McBride 
Jimmy Patronis 
Neal P. Dunn 
Kat Cammack 
Aaron Bean 
John H. Rutherford 
Randy Fine 
Cory Mills 
Mike Haridopolos 
Darren Soto 
Maxwell Frost 
Daniel Webster 
Gus M. Bilirakis 
Anna Paulina Luna 
Kathy Castor 
Laurel M. Lee 
Vern Buchanan 
W. Gregory Steube 
Scott Franklin 
Byron Donalds 
Brian J. Mast 
Lois Frankel 
Jared Moskowitz 
Frederica S. Wilson 
Debbie Wasserman Schultz 
Mario Diaz-Balart 
Maria Elvira Salazar 
Carlos A. Gimenez 
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter 
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. 
Brian Jack 
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. 
Nikema Williams 
Lucy McBath 
Richard McCormick 
Austin Scott 
Andrew S. Clyde 
Mike Collins 
Barry Loudermilk 
Rick W. Allen 
Everton Blair Jr. 
Clay Fuller 
James C. Moylan 
Ed Case 
Jill N. Tokuda 
Mariannette Miller-Meeks 
Ashley Hinson 
Zachary Nunn 
Randy Feenstra 
Russ Fulcher 
Michael K. Simpson 
Jonathan L. Jackson 
Robin L. Kelly 
Delia C. Ramirez 
Jesús G. "Chuy" García 
Mike Quigley 
Sean Casten 
Danny K. Davis 
Raja Krishnamoorthi 
Janice D. Schakowsky 
Bradley Scott Schneider 
Bill Foster 
Mike Bost 
Nikki Budzinski 
Lauren Underwood 
Mary E. Miller 
Darin LaHood 
Eric Sorensen 
Frank J. Mrvan 
Rudy Yakym III 
Marlin A. Stutzman 
James R. Baird 
Victoria Spartz 
Jefferson Shreve 
André Carson 
Mark B. Messmer 
Erin Houchin 
Tracey Mann 
Derek Schmidt 
Sharice Davids 
Ron Estes 
James Comer 
Brett Guthrie 
Morgan McGarvey 
Thomas Massie 
Harold Rogers 
Andy Barr 
Steve Scalise 
Troy A. Carter 
Clay Higgins Mike Johnson 
Julia Letlow 
Cleo Fields 
Richard E. Neal 
James P. McGovern 
Lori Trahan 
Jake Auchincloss 
Katherine M. Clark 
Seth Moulton 
Ayanna Pressley 
Stephen F. Lynch 
William R. Keating 
Andy Harris 
Johnny Olszewski, Jr. 
Sarah Elfreth 
Glenn Ivey 
Steny H. Hoyer 
April McClain Delaney 
Kweisi Mfume 
Jamie Raskin 
Chellie Pingree 
Jared F. Golden 
Jack Bergman 
John R. Moolenaar 
Hillary J. Scholten 
Bill Huizenga 
Tim Walberg 
Debbie Dingell 
Tom Barrett 
Kristen McDonald Rivet 
Lisa C. McClain 
John James 
Haley M. Stevens 
Rashida Tlaib 
Shri Thanedar 
Brad Finstad 
Angie Craig 
Kelly Morrison 
Betty McCollum 
Ilhan Omar 
Tom Emmer 
Michelle Fischbach 
Pete Stauber 
Wesley Bell 
Ann Wagner 
Robert F. Onder, Jr. 
Mark Alford 
Emanuel Cleaver 
Sam Graves 
Eric Burlison 
Jason Smith 
Kimberlyn King-Hinds 
Trent Kelly 
Bennie G. Thompson 
Michael Guest 
Mike Ezell 
Ryan K. Zinke 
Troy Downing 
Donald G. Davis 
Deborah K. Ross 
Gregory F. Murphy 
Valerie P. Foushee 
Virginia Foxx 
Addison P. McDowell 
David Rouzer 
Mark Harris 
Richard Hudson 
Pat Harrigan 
Chuck Edwards 
Alma S. Adams 
Brad Knott 
Tim Moore 
Julie Fedorchak 
Mike Flood 
Don Bacon 
Adrian Smith 
Chris Pappas 
Maggie Goodlander 
Donald Norcross 
Jefferson Van Drew 
Herbert C. Conaway, Jr. 
Christopher H. Smith 
Josh Gottheimer 
Frank Pallone, Jr. 
Thomas H. Kean, Jr. 
Robert Menendez 
Nellie Pou 
LaMonica McIver 
Analilia Mejia 
Bonnie Watson Coleman 
Melanie A. Stansbury 
Gabe Vasquez 
Teresa Leger Fernandez 
Dina Titus 
Mark E. Amodei 
Susie Lee 
Steven Horsford 
Nick LaLota 
Andrew R. Garbarino 
Thomas R. Suozzi 
Laura Gillen 
Gregory W. Meeks 
Grace Meng 
Nydia M. Velázquez 
Hakeem S. Jeffries 
Yvette D. Clarke 
Daniel S. Goldman 
Nicole Malliotakis 
Jerrold Nadler 
Adriano Espaillat 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 
Ritchie Torres 
George Latimer 
Michael Lawler 
Patrick Ryan 
Josh Riley 
Paul Tonko 
Elise M. Stefanik 
John W. Mannion 
Nicholas A. Langworthy 
Claudia Tenney 
Joseph D. Morelle 
Timothy M. Kennedy 
Greg Landsman 
David J. Taylor 
Joyce Beatty 
Jim Jordan 
Robert E. Latta 
Michael A. Rulli 
Max L. Miller 
Warren Davidson 
Marcy Kaptur 
Michael R. Turner 
Shontel M. Brown 
Troy Balderson 
Emilia Strong Sykes 
David P. Joyce 
Mike Carey 
Kevin Hern 
Josh Brecheen 
Frank D. Lucas 
Tom Cole 
Stephanie I. Bice 
Suzanne Bonamici 
Cliff Bentz 
Maxine Dexter 
Val T. Hoyle 
Janelle S. Bynum 
Andrea Salinas 
Brian K. Fitzpatrick 
Brendan F. Boyle 
Dwight Evans 
Madeleine Dean 
Mary Gay Scanlon 
Chrissy Houlahan 
Ryan Mackenzie 
Robert P. Bresnahan, Jr. 
Daniel Meuser 
Scott Perry 
Lloyd Smucker 
Summer L. Lee 
John Joyce 
Guy Reschenthaler 
Glenn Thompson 
Mike Kelly 
Christopher R. Deluzio 
Pablo José Hernández 
Gabe Amo 
Seth Magaziner 
Nancy Mace 
Joe Wilson 
Sheri Biggs 
William R. Timmons IV 
Ralph Norman 
James E. Clyburn 
Russell Fry 
Dusty Johnson 
Diana Harshbarger 
Tim Burchett 
Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann 
Scott DesJarlais 
Andrew Ogles 
John W. Rose 
Matt Van Epps 
David Kustoff 
Steve Cohen 
Nathaniel Moran 
Dan Crenshaw 
Keith Self 
Pat Fallon 
Lance Gooden 
Jake Ellzey 
Lizzie Fletcher 
Morgan Luttrell 
Al Green 
Michael T. McCaul 
August Pfluger 
Craig A. Goldman 
Ronny Jackson 
Randy K. Weber, Sr. 
Monica De La Cruz 
Veronica Escobar 
Pete Sessions 
Christian D. Menefee 
Jodey C. Arrington 
Joaquin Castro 
Chip Roy 
Troy E. Nehls 
Beth Van Duyne 
Roger Williams 
Brandon Gill 
Michael Cloud 
Henry Cuellar 
Sylvia R. Garcia 
Jasmine Crockett 
John R. Carter 
Julie Johnson 
Marc A. Veasey 
Vicente Gonzalez 
Greg Casar 
Brian Babin 
Lloyd Doggett 
Wesley Hunt 
Blake D. Moore 
Celeste Maloy 
Mike Kennedy 
Burgess Owens 
Robert J. Wittman 
Jennifer A. Kiggans 
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott 
Jennifer L. McClellan 
John J. McGuire III 
Ben Cline 
Eugene Simon Vindman 
Donald S. Beyer, Jr. 
H. Morgan Griffith 
Suhas Subramanyam 
James R. Walkinshaw 
Stacey E. Plaskett 
Becca Balint 
Suzan K. DelBene 
Rick Larsen 
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez 
Dan Newhouse 
Michael Baumgartner 
Emily Randall 
Pramila Jayapal 
Kim Schrier 
Adam Smith 
Marilyn Strickland 
Bryan Steil 
Mark Pocan 
Derrick Van Orden 
Gwen Moore 
Scott Fitzgerald 
Glenn Grothman 
Thomas P. Tiffany 
Tony Wied 
Carol D. Miller 
Riley M. Moore 
Harriet M. Hageman Photos: All public domain (official portraits: U.S. Congress via the unitedstates project). Via Wikimedia Commons and congress.gov.
Try it · How a bill becomes law
Set the votes and the President's response. Every threshold is the real one.
Try it · Staggered terms
Six-year terms are split into three classes, so the chamber never turns over all at once.
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Article II · U.S. Constitution
Enforces the laws, commands the armed forces, conducts foreign policy, and appoints judges and officers.
President Donald Trump 
Vice President JD Vance Photos: All public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.
State Marco Rubio 
Treasury Scott Bessent 
Defense Pete Hegseth 
Attorney General Todd Blanche 
Interior Doug Burgum 
Agriculture Brooke Rollins 
Commerce Howard Lutnick 
Labor Keith Sonderling 
Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 
Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner 
Transportation Sean Duffy 
Energy Chris Wright 
Education Linda McMahon 
Veterans Affairs Doug Collins 
Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin Photos: All public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Try it · Line of succession
Tap an office to mark it vacant. An officer must also be eligible to be President: a natural-born citizen, 35 or older, 14 years a resident. Ineligible officers are skipped.
Article III · U.S. Constitution
Interprets the laws and the Constitution, and decides cases and controversies.
Chief Justice John Roberts 
Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson 
Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett 
Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh 
Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch 
Associate Justice Elena Kagan 
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor 
Associate Justice Samuel Alito 
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas Photos: Elena Kagan — Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sonia Sotomayor — Stacey Ilyse, CC BY 3.0 . Others public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Try it · The Court's size
The Constitution never fixes the number of justices; Congress has changed it seven times. Drag through history.
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Try it · From vacancy to the bench
Federal judges are never elected. Step through the path every one of them takes.
Step 1 of 6 · Justice or judge
A judge dies, retires, takes senior status or is removed. Federal judges serve 'during good behaviour' — in practice, for life.
Step 2 of 6 · President
The White House vets candidates — often with input from home-state senators for lower courts — and sends a nomination to the Senate.
Step 3 of 6 · Senate Judiciary Committee
The nominee answers questions in public hearings; the American Bar Association may rate them. Home-state senators' 'blue slips' still matter for district judges.
Step 4 of 6 · Senate Judiciary Committee
The committee votes to report the nomination favourably, unfavourably or without recommendation.
Step 5 of 6 · Full Senate
A simple majority confirms. The filibuster for judicial nominees was ended in 2013 (lower courts) and 2017 (Supreme Court).
Step 6 of 6 · President
The President signs the commission and the judge takes the oath. Removal only by impeachment in the House and conviction by ⅔ of the Senate.
Balance
Each branch can block the others. Tap a check, or a circle, to trace who can stop whom.
50 constitutions
Every state mirrors the federal design with its own three branches — but each chooses how many offices to put on the ballot.
Statewide popular vote; Georgia requires a majority or a runoff. 36 governorships are up in 2026.
On 2026 ballotsElected separately in some states, jointly in others; a handful of states have no lieutenant governor.
The attorney general is elected in 43 states. The secretary of state — who usually runs elections — is elected in 35.
On 2026 ballots7,386 seats · 99 chambers
Every state but Nebraska is bicameral. Nebraska has one nonpartisan chamber of 49 senators. Legislatures typically draw congressional maps.
On 2026 ballotsPartisan elections (e.g. TX, AL), nonpartisan elections (e.g. WI, MI, GA), merit selection then yes/no retention votes (the “Missouri Plan”), appointment by the governor, or — in South Carolina and Virginia — election by the legislature.
On 2026 ballotsPublic-service commissions, state boards of education, insurance commissioners, labor commissioners and more are elected in some states.
AK Mike J. Dunleavy 
AL Kay Ivey 
AR Sarah Huckabee Sanders 
AZ Katie Hobbs 
CA Gavin Newsom 
CO Jared Polis 
CT Ned Lamont 
DE Matt Meyer 
FL Ron DeSantis 
GA Brian Kemp 
HI Josh Green 
IA Kim Reynolds 
ID Brad Little 
IL JB Pritzker 
IN Mike Braun 
KS Laura Kelly 
KY Andy Beshear 
LA Jeff Landry 
MA Maura Healey 
MD Wes Moore 
ME Janet T. Mills 
MI Gretchen Whitmer 
MN Tim Walz 
MO Mike Kehoe 
MS Tate Reeves 
MT Greg Gianforte 
NC Josh Stein 
ND Kelly M. Armstrong 
NE Jim Pillen 
NH Kelly Ayotte 
NJ Mikie Sherrill 
NM Michelle Lujan Grisham 
NV Joe Lombardo 
NY Kathy Hochul 
OH Mike DeWine 
OK Kevin Stitt 
OR Tina Kotek 
PA Josh Shapiro 
RI Daniel McKee 
SC Henry McMaster 
SD Larry Rhoden 
TN Bill Lee 
TX Greg Abbott 
UT Spencer Cox 
VA Abigail Spanberger 
VT Phil Scott 
WA Bob Ferguson 
WI Tony Evers 
WV Patrick Morrisey 
WY Mark Gordon 3,143 counties & equivalents
Counties run courts, jails, property records, elections and roads. Louisiana calls them parishes; Alaska, boroughs.
The county's legislative body: budget, land use, ordinances.
On 2026 ballotsElected in nearly every state. Runs the county jail and patrols unincorporated areas.
On 2026 ballotsDecides which crimes are charged. Elected in 45+ states.
On 2026 ballotsClerks often run elections and keep records; assessors value property for taxes; coroners investigate deaths.
On 2026 ballotsMany voters' ballots include long lists of judicial retention questions: vote yes to keep a judge, no to remove.
On 2026 ballots~90,000 local governments
Cities, towns, school districts and special districts — water, fire, transit, hospitals, libraries — are where most elected offices live.
In a “strong mayor” city the mayor is the executive; in “council-manager” cities a hired manager runs operations. Many races are nonpartisan.
Some cities (e.g. New York) use ranked-choice voting in local primaries.
On 2026 ballotsUsually nonpartisan. Hires the superintendent, sets the district budget and curriculum policy.
On 2026 ballotsWater, fire, transit, hospital, park, port and library districts.
On 2026 ballotsTry it · Layers of government
Most Americans live under five or six overlapping governments at once, and vote for many of their officials. Tap a layer.
39,555 special districts
43.5% of all local governments
Single-purpose bodies: water, fire, transit, hospitals, libraries, parks, mosquito control. Many boards are elected in low-turnout, off-cycle elections.
19,491 municipalities
21.5% of all local governments
Cities, towns and villages: police, zoning, streets, local courts. Led by an elected mayor and council, or a council that hires a manager.
16,214 townships
17.8% of all local governments
Found in 20 states, mostly the Northeast and Midwest: roads, assessment, poor relief. New England towns govern through town meeting.
12,546 school districts
13.8% of all local governments
Independent districts with elected boards that set budgets, hire superintendents and often levy property tax.
3,031 counties
3.3% of all local governments
Administrative arms of the state: courts, jails, elections, property records, public health. Elected commissioners, sheriff, clerk, prosecutor.
Voters as legislators
In many states voters decide laws themselves, not just who makes them.
26 states allow citizen-initiated statutes or constitutional amendments.
On 2026 ballotsEvery state but Delaware requires voters to approve constitutional amendments.
On 2026 ballots19 states allow recall of state officials; many more allow recall of local officials.
Try it · How an initiative reaches the ballot
About half the states let citizens put laws, constitutional amendments or both on the ballot directly.
Step 1 of 6 · Citizens
Sponsors write the proposed law or constitutional amendment and file it with the state, often after a legal review.
Step 2 of 6 · State officials
The attorney general or secretary of state writes the official ballot title — wording that can decide the vote, and is often challenged in court.
Step 3 of 6 · Voters
Sponsors gather signatures, usually a share of the votes cast in the last governor's race, within a fixed window — often with paid circulators.
Step 4 of 6 · Election officials
Officials check a random sample or every signature against the voter rolls. Falling short means the measure doesn't make the ballot.
Step 5 of 6 · Committees
Ballot-measure committees can raise unlimited money; spending often exceeds that of candidate races on the same ballot.
Step 6 of 6 · Voters
Most measures need a simple majority; some states require supermajorities or a minimum turnout. Approved statutes may be amendable by the legislature.
Before November
Parties pick their general-election candidates in primaries run by the states. Who may vote in a primary depends on state law and party rules.
Try it · Which ballot do I get?