Is the House directly elected by the people?
The House is the only branch of government that has been directly elected by American voters since its formation in 1789. Unlike the Senate, the House is not a continuing body.
The U.S. House of Representatives is the only branch of federal government elected directly by the citizens of the United States since its founding in 1789.
Voters have selected U.S. senators in the privacy of the voting booth since 1913. This system of “direct election” was not what the framers of the U.S. Constitution had in mind, however, when they met at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
[HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES] The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
The representatives of the state (Lok Sabha) shall be directly elected by the people on the basis of adult suffrage.
According to Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof for six Years.” The framers believed that in electing senators, state legislatures would cement their ties with the national government.
A direct election is an election in which people vote directly for the person, persons or political party that they want to see elected to a political position.
An indirect election or hierarchical voting is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties.
Electoral College. In other U.S. elections, candidates are elected directly by popular vote. But the president and vice president are not elected directly by citizens. Instead, they are chosen by “electors” through a process called the Electoral College.
The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, 2 for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, Senators were chosen by state legislatures, not by popular vote. Since then, they have been elected to six-year terms by the people of each state.
How the Senate is elected?
To become a senator you need to get elected by the voters in your state or territory at a federal election. Senate electorates are multi-member, meaning there is a group of senators elected to look after the interests of all the people of a state or territory.
The Founding Fathers believed that since the Senators represented the state, the state legislature should elect them. The 17th Amendment to the Constitution requires Senators to be elected by a direct vote of those she or he will represent. Election winners are decided by the plurality rule.
Under this system: The entire country is divided into 543 constituencies; Each constituency elects one representative; and The candidate who secures the highest number of votes in that constituency is declared elected.
One of the two parts of Congress, considered the "lower house." Representatives are elected directly by the people, with the number of representatives for each state determined by the state's population.
The House has elected a Speaker 128 times since 1789. The Speaker is elected at the beginning of the new Congress by a majority of the Representatives-elect from a selection of candidates nominated on the floor prior to the vote.
The U.S. Senate, together with the U.S. House of Representatives, makes up the U.S. Congress.
Congressional elections happen every two years. Voters choose one-third of senators and every member of the House of Representatives. Midterm elections take place halfway between presidential elections. The congressional elections in November 2022 were "midterms."
A member of the House must be at least 25 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.
A Representative is elected by only those eligible voters residing in the congressional district that the candidate will represent. Election winners are decided by the plurality rule. That is, the person who receives the highest number of votes wins. This may not necessarily be a majority of the votes.
The majority party members and the minority party members meet separately to select their leaders. Third parties rarely have had enough members to elect their own leadership, and independents will generally join one of the larger party organizations to receive committee assignments.
Who elects the House and Senate?
Representatives and Senators are directly elected by the public (see Capitol Visitor Center essay “Who Elects our Senators?”). Passing legislation requires the agreement of both the House and Senate.
House Leadership is elected every two years at the beginning of a new Congress. The Speaker of the House is elected by the entire membership of the House, and other majority party and minority party leaders are selected by Members of each party's delegation.