The United States of America is a representative democracy, meaning that citizens vote to elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf. In the US, politics involves both federal and state governments as well as numerous local levels. This article will provide an overview of American politics at all levels.
At the federal level, there are three branches: legislative (the Congress), executive (the President), and judicial (the Supreme Court). The legislative branch is made up of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate; together, they form Congress, which makes laws for the entire nation. The President is in charge of the Executive Branch, which has the authority to carry out those laws through his cabinet and other organizations like Homeland Security or the Treasury Department. The judicial branch is the last one, and its members—justices of the Supreme Court—interpret existing laws when asked to do so by Congress or lower courts.
The main political parties in the US (the Republican Party and Democratic Party) compete with each other during elections every four years, where citizens select a new president from one party or another along with all 435 members in the House of Representatives from their respective districts across the country plus 33 senators out of the 100-member body elected directly by people within the states they represent, respectively. Besides these two major ones, many smaller parties exist, yet none have achieved significant success at the national level due to recent trends towards bipartisanship amongst voters, leading them toward mainstream candidates rather than third-party options, thus making it difficult to achieve the same recognition needed to win a presidential election any given cycle year.
Elections were also held in midterms, where only half of the senate seats were available while the rest remained unaffected until the next round, four years later, alongside governor races. In some cases, depending on whether a particular state holds its gubernatorial contests, even odd-numbered cycles were held apart again depending on the jurisdiction's own rules and regulations regarding the timing and implementation of such events. During these times, we usually see heightened activity involving campaigns. The US government, established in 1789 after the Revolutionary War, resulted in the establishment of a newly independent republic, breaking away from the British Empire preceding the colonial period.
In addition to the federal government, each state has its own set of governing institutions known collectively as "state government." These include a governor elected statewide every four years; legislators representing different parts of their states chosen either biennially or quadrennially; multiple administrative offices, including treasurer, secretary, education, etc.; a supreme court justice appointed based recommendation committee interview panel confirmations legislature; and municipal city town county boards commissioners tasked with managing day affairs in those respective jurisdictions, among many others. Depending on the degree of responsibilities and authority delegated according to policies, protocols, and procedures enacted, overseeing specific domains influences policymaking at the higher echelons of departments. The bureaucracy employed in enforcing and executing necessary mandates brings about desired outcomes.