How the US Congress Works

On 3 November 2026 Americans vote for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and 39 governors, with both chambers narrowly held by Republicans. This film explains the system behind the vote: the compromise of 1787 that gave the House seats by population and every state two senators; why two chambers make laws hard to pass; how House seats are shared out after each census and how district lines are drawn, and the 1812 map that gave gerrymandering its name; why only a third of the Senate is elected at a time, and how senators came to be chosen by voters in 1913; the filibuster and the 60-vote rule; how a bill becomes a law or meets a veto; and why the president's party usually loses seats in a midterm.

Two houses, one law

How the US Congress works, and what a midterm decides.

The great compromise

Big states, small states, one deal.

The House

Seats move with the census.

The Senate

A third at a time.

Making a law

Two chambers, then the president.

The midterms

The president is not on the ballot, but the party is.

Two houses, one law

Slow by design.

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