Social media, mainstream news, coffee shop conversations — you can’t help hearing about the midterm elections if you’re living in the states. “Midterm” refers to the presidential term. U.S. citizens living in the state vote for a president every four years. Members of the House serve for two years and senators for six. Two years into a president’s term, therefore, a lot of state legislators are up for reelection. Since that’s the middle of the president’s term, these elections are called midterms.
Since 1934, only three presidents have seen increases in their party’s legislators from midterm elections. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only three-term president, gained eighteen Democrats in his government in 1934 — but lost 79 in 1938. Bill Clinton gained four in 1998. George Bush saw an increase of ten seats for his party in 2002. Otherwise, every midterm election brought a drop in the legislators in the president’s party.
What difference does it make?
When the House of Representatives has a majority of members from one party (at this writing, it’s the Republican Party), the majority controls a lot of things:
- which bills get voted on
- who chairs committees
- congressional investigations
- subpoenas for investigations and hearings
- much of the decision making on taxation and spending
- impeachments
When the Senate has a majority from one party, the majority party control these things:
- confirmation of cabinet officials, judges, ambassadors, and other presidential nominees
- Senate committee leadership and hearings
- ratification of treaties
- which Senate bills get voted on
While the president still has executive powers, a cooperative Congress makes an enormous difference in what the president is able to accomplish. Assuming that a Republican president gets more cooperation from a Republican House or Senate, a change in the majority of either house can make a big difference.
How does Puerto Rico come into it?
Voters in Puerto Rico have no say in midterm elections. Puerto Rico has no senators. As a state, Puerto Rico would have two. Puerto Rico also has no voting members of Congress. The Island is represented in the House by a resident commissioner, who is elected every four years in general elections along with the governor.
However, the majority of Puerto Ricans now live in states, not on the Island. Stateside Puerto Ricans can’t vote in status votes and can’t vote for the resident commissioner, but they can vote for senators and congressional representatives in the state where they are citizens. Both Republican and Democratic legislators are supportive of Puerto Rico and of statehood for Puerto Rico. Polls show that stateside Puerto Rican voters would rather vote for candidates who support statehood for Puerto Rico, so ask your legislators whether they do. Make that part of your decision-making when you choose who to vote for.
And make sure you are registered to vote in your state. As a U.S. citizen, you are a citizen of the state where you live. You have the right to vote for your lawmakers. Let your vote help give U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico the same right.
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