The topic returns every election cycle, and so do the same misconceptions. Here are five, checked against the amendment’s text and the official Constitution Annotated.

Myth 1: “The Constitution always limited presidents to two terms”

Not true. The original Constitution of 1787 set a four-year term and no limit on reelection.

The two-term limit started as a tradition. George Washington retired after two terms and announced it in his Farewell Address in September 1796. Thomas Jefferson did the same in 1808 and warned that unlimited reelection could turn the office into a life tenure. After Jefferson, the two-term tradition held, although a few presidents tested it or chose to seek a third term:

• Ulysses S. Grant sought a third nomination at the 1880 Republican convention and lost it to James Garfield.
• Theodore Roosevelt ran in 1912 on the Progressive ticket after serving most of William McKinley’s term plus one of his own, and lost.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt won a third term in 1940 and a fourth term in 1944. He died in April 1945, a few months into that fourth term.

After FDR, Congress wrote the custom into law. A 1947 House report cited “a well-defined custom” against more than two terms. Congress passed the 22nd Amendment on March 21, 1947, and the states ratified it on February 27, 1951, according to the National Archives transcript of Amendments 11 through 27.

Section 1 also has a grandfather clause: “this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress.” It also let anyone acting as president during the term it took effect finish that term. That covered the sitting president, Harry Truman, who chose not to run in 1952.

Myth 2: “A president can never serve more than 8 years”

Close, but no. The amendment limits how many times a person may be *elected*, not how long they serve. Section 1 says:

“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.”

It depends on how they got the job:

Lyndon B. Johnson is the textbook case. He became president in November 1963 and served about 14 months of John F. Kennedy’s term. Because that was under two years, he was eligible to be elected twice. He won in 1964 and could have run in 1968, but chose not to. Gerald Ford took over in August 1974 with roughly 29 months left in Richard Nixon’s term, so he could only be elected once. He lost in 1976.

Myth 3: “Non-consecutive terms reset the clock”

It doesn’t. The amendment counts elections, and it says nothing about whether they come back to back. Two wins in any order use up the limit.

Grover Cleveland served 1885 to 1889 and 1893 to 1897, before any limit existed. Donald Trump won in 2016, lost in 2020 and won again in 2024. Under the plain text of the 22nd Amendment, that’s two elections, and his current term ends on January 20, 2029.

Myth 4: “A two-term president could just run as vice president”

Nobody knows for sure, because it has never happened and no court has ruled on the question.

The 22nd Amendment bans being *elected* president a third time. It doesn’t ban *serving*, and the Constitution Annotated notes that broader wording (“shall be chosen or serve as President”) was considered in 1947 and rejected. The 12th Amendment adds that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President.”

The two main readings:

• The door is closed: A two-term president is “constitutionally ineligible” to be president, so the 12th Amendment bars them from the vice presidency too. Many constitutional scholars read it this way.
• The door is ajar: The person is only barred from being *elected* president, so they aren’t fully ineligible, and they could become president by succession if the top job opened up.

The Constitution Annotated says the 22nd Amendment “has yet to be applied” and lists this as an open question. It also leaves open whether a two-term president could serve as Speaker of the House, next in line after the vice president. A real case would likely end at the Supreme Court (see how the Supreme Court works).

Any such ticket would still need to win the Electoral College, which is a separate hurdle.

Myth 5: “Congress can change term limits by passing a law”

Wrong. Presidential term limits are in the Constitution of the United States, so only a constitutional amendment changes them. A regular bill or an executive order won’t do it. Article V sets the route:

1. Two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate approve a joint resolution. (A convention called by the states is the other route; it has never been used.)
2. The proposal goes to the states. The president plays no formal role and has no veto.
3. Three-fourths of the states, which today means 38 of 50, ratify it.

That bar is high on purpose. The country has ratified 27 amendments since 1789, and the most recent one, the 27th, took more than two centuries to finish, which makes even a slow committee look speedy.

Proposals do get filed. In January 2025, Representative Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced H.J.Res. 29, which would allow up to three elections while barring anyone who had already served two consecutive terms. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and, as of October 2026, has had no further action. Earlier repeal proposals never reached a floor vote either. Lawmakers themselves have no limits, a debate covered in term limits for Congress.

The third-term debate as of October 2026

President Trump has raised the question of a third term several times since returning to office. In March 2025 he told NBC News there were “methods” for doing it. More recently he has sounded more cautious. Asked again on August 11, 2026, he said: “I’d love to run, but the law is very strong.”

Those who want to loosen the limit usually argue:

• The people, through their votes, should be free to reelect a president they want to keep.
• Prime ministers in parliamentary democracies such as the United Kingdom and Canada face no term limits.

Those who defend the 22nd Amendment as written usually argue:

• Limits guard against one person gathering too much power for too long.
• The rule has been in place since 1951, and changing it for a sitting president would look like changing the rules mid-game.

As of October 2026, no amendment to change the limit has passed either chamber. The 22nd Amendment reads exactly as it did in 1951.

FAQ: presidential term limits

How many terms can a president serve?

A president can be elected twice. Someone who takes over with two years or less left in a predecessor’s term may still be elected to two full terms, for a total of nearly a decade.

Has any president served more than two terms?

Only Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected four times (1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944) before the 22nd Amendment existed.

Can the 22nd Amendment be repealed?

Yes, through another constitutional amendment: two-thirds of both chambers of Congress, then ratification by 38 states.

The money pays for something older than the Capitol dome: people asking government to act, or to stop acting. Lobbying is how companies, unions, charities, cities, universities and individual citizens try to influence laws and rules. Here are the questions people ask most, answered with what federal law says, as of October 2026.

What is lobbying in simple terms?

Lobbying is any organized attempt to influence legislation or other government action. The targets are usually legislators and their staff, in Congress or in state legislatures, or the agency officials who write regulations. The word comes from the lobbies outside legislative chambers, where petitioners waited to catch lawmakers on their way in.

Lobbyists are the people who do the asking, either for a paying client or as an employee of the organization they represent. Lobbyists work for oil companies and environmental groups, for hospitals and patient advocates, for tech firms and small farmers. A school district pushing for education funding is lobbying, and so are interest groups on both sides of the gun debate.

Is lobbying legal in the United States?

Yes, and the protection starts in the Constitution. The First Amendment bars Congress from abridging “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Asking your representatives to change a policy is that petition, whether you write a letter or hire a lobbying firm.

Federal law regulates disclosure, not the right itself. Bribery, meaning money or favors handed over in exchange for an official act, is a crime. Lobbying is political persuasion done in the open, at least in theory, with paperwork attached.

What do lobbyists actually do?

The job involves fewer cigars and more spreadsheets than the movies suggest. Congress has thousands of bills in play and limited staff, so lobbyists supply research, data, draft language and a clear account of how proposed legislation would affect their industry or cause.

Typical lobbying activities include:

• Meetings with members of Congress, committee staff and agency officials
• Testimony at hearings and public comments during federal rulemaking
• Drafting bill text or amendments that a friendly office might introduce
• Tracking legislation as it moves through committees and floor votes
• Building coalitions with other interest groups that want the same result

Lobbyists do much of this early, while legislation is still being written. Our guide to how a bill becomes a law shows each stage where lobbyists can push.

What is the difference between direct and grassroots lobbying?

Direct lobbying is contact with officials themselves: the meeting, the phone call, the email to a committee staffer. Grassroots lobbying works through the public. An interest group urges its members or the general public to call, write or show up, shaping public opinion so legislators feel pressure from voters back home.

Grassroots campaigns can be genuine or manufactured. Critics use the word “astroturf” for campaigns that look homegrown but are funded by a single company or special interest.

Who has to register as a lobbyist?

The main federal law is the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-65), signed on December 19, 1995. It covers lobbying of Congress and the executive branch. Lobbying of state legislatures and local governments falls under state laws.

Under the Act, a person is a lobbyist if they are paid to lobby, make more than one lobbying contact, and spend at least 20 percent of their time on lobbying activities for a client in a three-month period. The law requires the employer or lobbying firm to register within 45 days of the first contact. After that, it must file:

1. A registration (LD-1) naming the client and the issues lobbied.
2. A quarterly report (LD-2) on the issues, bills, agencies contacted and money spent, due April 20, July 20, October 20 and January 20.
3. A semiannual contribution report (LD-203) listing certain political contributions by the registrant and its lobbyists.

Small players are exempt from federal registration. Under thresholds in effect since January 1, 2025, a firm does not register for a client that pays it $3,500 or less in a quarter, and an organization with in-house lobbyists is exempt while its lobbying expenses stay at $16,000 or less, according to the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Knowingly breaking the rules can bring a civil fine of up to $200,000; corrupt violations can mean up to five years in prison.

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 tightened the system after the Jack Abramoff scandal. It requires firms to file quarterly instead of twice a year and to file electronically. It also created the contribution reports, raised the fines and restricted gifts from lobbyists to members of Congress.

What is the revolving door in lobbying?

The revolving door is the movement of people between government jobs and lobbying firms, in both directions. A former congressional staffer who wrote tax legislation becomes a tax lobbyist, or a lobbyist joins an agency that regulates their old industry.

Federal law slows the door:

• Former senators may not lobby Congress for 2 years after leaving office (extended from 1 year by the 2007 law).
• Former members of the House of Representatives face a 1-year ban on lobbying Congress.
• Senior congressional staff have a 1-year cooling-off period for contacts with their former office or chamber.

Supporters say former officials who become lobbyists bring real expertise about how government works. Critics argue that clients of lobbying firms are buying access and personal relationships more than arguments. To see how many offices and committees a lobbyist can work, read our explainer on how Congress works.

Is lobbying the same as campaign contributions?

No, though the two often travel together. Lobbying is persuasion about policy. Campaign contributions are money given to help someone win an election, and they fall under the Federal Election Commission, not the lobbying disclosure system.

The limits differ sharply. For 2025-2026, an individual can give a federal candidate $3,500 per election. Super PACs, which spend independently and may not coordinate with candidates, can accept unlimited contributions, including from corporations and unions. That rule dates to 2010, after the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision; our guide to how the Supreme Court works explains how rulings like that become national law. Lobbyists who give personal contributions must list many of them on their LD-203 reports.

Is lobbying good or bad for democracy?

Both sides make serious arguments.

The case for lobbying

• It is a constitutional right, used by every kind of interest group, from the Chamber of Commerce to the Sierra Club.
• Policymakers get detailed information on legislation they could not produce alone.
• Public disclosure reports let anyone see which lobbyists are working on which bill.

The case against lobbying

• Interest groups with the most money can hire the most lobbyists and firms, and gain the most access.
• The revolving door blurs the line between public service and private interest.
• Grassroots and “shadow” lobbying below the registration thresholds stays largely invisible.

Most reform debates sit between those poles: longer cooling-off periods, lower registration thresholds, broader rules for grassroots campaigns. Few people argue for banning lobbying outright, because the same right protects a billion-dollar trade group and a parent writing to a senator about her kid’s school.

Quick facts about lobbying

• Spending: $5.08 billion on federal lobbying in 2025, a record (OpenSecrets).
• Legal basis: the First Amendment’s right to petition the government.
• Main law: the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, tightened in 2007.
• Reports: filed with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, searchable by the public.
• Not lobbying: campaign donations, which the FEC regulates.

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government: 100 senators plus 435 voting members of the House of Representatives, 535 in total. Here is how it is built, what it can do, who runs it as of October 2026, and how to reach the people who represent you.

How Congress is built: the House and the Senate

The House is meant to track the population. California has dozens of representatives; the least populous states have one. The Senate gives every state equal weight: two senators each, whether the state had fewer than 600,000 residents in the 2020 census, like Wyoming, or more than 39 million, like California.

The House also has six nonvoting members: delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands, plus a resident commissioner from Puerto Rico. They sit on committees and debate on the floor, but they cannot vote when the full House passes legislation.

What powers does Congress have?

Congress has only the powers the Constitution gives it, but this list is long. Article I, Section 8 says Congress may:

• lay and collect taxes, pay the debts and borrow money,
• regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states and with Indian tribes,
• coin money and set rules for naturalization and bankruptcy,
• declare war, raise armies and maintain a navy,
• create the federal courts below the Supreme Court,
• and make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out those powers.

The spending power reaches furthest. Under Article I, Section 9, no money leaves the Treasury without an appropriation made by law, so every federal agency depends on Congress passing spending bills. Congressional oversight is the other big lever: committees hold hearings, demand documents and investigate how the executive branch carries out the laws Congress passed. Spending fights and oversight hearings are where most government policy gets argued in public.

Some powers belong to one side only:

1. The House: all bills for raising revenue must start there (Article I, Section 7), and it has “the sole Power of Impeachment,” meaning it brings the charges.
2. The Senate: it holds the impeachment trial, and conviction takes two-thirds of the senators present. It also gives “advice and consent” on the President’s nominees for judges, ambassadors and Cabinet posts, and approves treaties by a two-thirds vote (Article II, Section 2).

Every one of these clauses is in the National Archives transcription of the Constitution. For the route a proposal takes, see our step-by-step guide to how a bill becomes a law.

Who leads Congress? Speaker, leaders and whips

The Constitution names only a few officers: the Speaker, the Vice President as President of the Senate, and a president pro tempore who presides when the Vice President is away. Party leadership fills in the rest, and both chambers organize it the same basic way. Names below are as of October 2026.

• Speaker of the House: elected by the full House, in practice the majority party’s leader. The Speaker decides which bills reach the floor. Currently Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican.
• House floor leaders: Steve Scalise runs floor strategy for the majority, Hakeem Jeffries for the minority.
• Senate majority leader: the most powerful senator, because the job comes with setting the floor schedule and being recognized first. Currently John Thune, a South Dakota Republican; Chuck Schumer heads the minority.
• Whips: they count votes and round up their colleagues before big roll calls. Senate whips are John Barrasso (majority) and Dick Durbin (minority).

The Vice President rarely presides day to day but can break a tie. And a Senate majority can’t always act alone: most legislation needs 60 votes to end debate, the rule behind the filibuster.

How does Congress work in committees?

Neither chamber could read every proposal on the floor, so both chambers split the work among committees. The House has 20 standing committees and the Senate 16, plus select and joint committees. Agriculture handles farm policy, Armed Services defense policy, and Ways and Means (House) and Finance (Senate) handle taxes.

Committees hold hearings, rewrite bills in “markup” sessions and decide which ones go to the floor. Most introduced bills never get a committee vote. Think of it as the place where bills go to be studied, and where many stay. The majority party holds every chair and most seats, which is one reason control of a chamber matters. The House Rules Committee is special: it sets the terms of floor debate for most major bills, so its 13 members shape what the whole House votes on.

Elections and terms: 2 years versus 6 years

House members serve two-year terms, so every seat is on the ballot every two years. Senators get six, staggered so about one-third of the Senate is up in each election. Neither chamber has term limits, a debate we cover in our piece on term limits for Congress.

House seats are reapportioned after each census, which the Constitution requires every ten years. The Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 capped the House at 435 and made the reshuffle automatic, so some states gain seats and others lose them. Today’s map rests on the 2020 census; the next reapportionment follows the 2030 count. Since the 17th Amendment (1913), voters have elected senators directly instead of state legislatures.

The next election is close. The midterms are on November 3, 2026, with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats on the ballot (33 regular seats plus special elections in Ohio and Florida). The new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2027, so the leadership and numbers above may change.

How to contact your representative and senators

Lawmakers keep offices in Washington and back home, and their staff track what constituents say. A few practical tips:

1. Find out who represents you. Enter your ZIP code at house.gov under “Find Your Representative”; senate.gov lists your two senators by state.
2. Call. The U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 connects you to any House or Senate office. District offices are often easier to reach.
3. Write or email through the contact form on the member’s website, and include your address so the office knows you’re a constituent.
4. Be specific. Name the bill number if you can (H.R. or S. plus a number), say what you want and keep it short. Staff often tally messages by issue.
5. Show up at town halls or district office meetings, where you get time face to face.

Organized interests do the same thing at scale, which is a big part of what lobbying is. A constituent who calls is doing a small version of it for free.

Key takeaways

• Congress has two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 435 voting seats split by population, all elected every two years; the Senate has 100 seats, two per state, with six-year terms.
• Article I lets Congress tax, spend, borrow, regulate commerce and declare war. The House starts revenue bills and impeaches; the Senate tries impeachments, confirms nominees and approves treaties.
• As of October 2026, Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, with Mike Johnson as Speaker and John Thune as Senate majority leader.
• Committees do most of the detailed work and decide which bills reach the floor.
• House seats are reapportioned after every census. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot on November 3, 2026.

A political ideology is a set of ideas about how society should be organized: who holds power, what the state may do and what it must leave alone. Political ideologies are easier to compare on a map with two directions rather than one. This guide places all the major ones on such a map and describes each ideology in terms its own supporters would accept.

Why does a single left-right line fall short?

The terms left and right date from the French Revolution. In 1789, defenders of the king and the old order sat on the right side of the assembly hall, and those pushing for change sat on the left. The seating chart has outlived the French monarchy by more than two centuries, which tells you how hard it is to retire a convenient label.

The trouble is that one line mixes two separate questions:

• How much should the state manage the economy, through taxes, regulation, welfare and ownership?
• How much should the state or tradition shape personal and social life, such as religion, family, speech, drugs and immigration?

A voter can answer these two questions in very different ways. That is why many political scientists prefer to draw the political spectrum with two dimensions, not one.

The two-axis map of politics: economy and society

Picture a cross. The horizontal axis is economic. At the left end are those who advocate for more government action to reduce inequality. At the right end are those who want freer markets, lower taxes and lighter regulation. The vertical axis is social and personal life. At the top sits more order, tradition or state authority. At the bottom sits more individual freedom.

Two well-known tools use versions of this idea. The Nolan Chart, created by the libertarian David Nolan, measures economic freedom against personal freedom. The Political Compass, a popular online quiz, plots users on a similar grid.

Centrism sits near the middle of the political spectrum. Populism and nationalism move around, because their focus is less on tax rates and more on who the political system serves.

The major political ideologies, placed on the map

Liberalism

Liberals start from liberty and equality before the law. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes liberalism as a philosophy built on the idea that political authority must be justified to the people who live under it. Classical liberalism ties individual freedom to private property and markets. The “new” or social liberalism of the 20th century holds that a safety net and rules for markets make freedom real for those who would otherwise lack the means to use it. In the United States, “liberal” usually means this second kind, which is why liberal and conservative Americans argue so much about the size of government.

Progressivism

Progressives treat liberalism as a starting point but want to go further and faster. In their own words, they want an economy and a democracy that work for everyone, along with stronger action on climate change, health care access, civil rights and equality. On the map, progressives sit further left on economics than most liberals and well toward personal freedom.

Conservatism

Conservatives value what time has tested. The thinker Edmund Burke argued that a state without some means of change is without the means of its own conservation, so conservatism favors careful, gradual reform built on institutions such as family, faith, local community and the Constitution. American conservatism, like other conservative traditions, values order, but it also carries a strong commitment to free markets, limited government and lower taxes. Our guide to liberal vs. conservative views compares the two sides in detail.

Libertarianism

Libertarians want the smallest government that can protect individual rights. They see voluntary exchange and individual choice as the best guides for the economy and for private life. That puts them right on economics and at the bottom of the social axis: low taxes, few regulations, and the state out of the bedroom, the medicine cabinet and the wallet.

Socialism and democratic socialism

Socialists believe the economy should serve the many, with major industries or resources owned or controlled collectively. Democratic socialists pursue these goals through elections and civil liberties rather than a one-party state. In American usage, many self-described democratic socialists focus on policies such as universal health care, stronger unions and higher taxes on the wealthy. That puts them far left on economics.

Populism, left and right

Populism describes politics as a contest between ordinary people and a corrupt or out-of-touch elite. Supporters say it gives a voice to citizens the system ignores. Left populists aim at banks, corporations and concentrated wealth. Right populists aim at cultural, political and media elites, and they often stress border control and national sovereignty. Populism is more a style than a program, so it can appear in almost any corner.

Nationalism

Nationalists put the interests, identity and independence of their own nation first. Supporters say a shared identity holds a diverse country together and that a government owes its first duty to its own citizens. It is an ideology that often pairs with right-leaning views on immigration and trade, but left-wing nationalist movements exist as well.

Centrism

Centrists, or moderates, pick and choose. They see merit on both sides and prefer compromise to any rigid ideology. A centrist may back a balanced budget and also support background checks for gun sales.

US vs. European labels

Labels change when they cross the Atlantic. In much of Europe, “liberal” still means classical liberal: free markets, civil liberties and a limited state. Germany’s Free Democratic Party is liberal in that sense, and on economics it often sits right of center. Conservative parties in Europe often accept a larger welfare state than American conservatives would. Social democratic parties have governed many European countries, while “socialist” remains a fighting word in American politics.

Party labels and ideology labels differ too. Our guide to Democrat vs. Republican shows how each major party holds a coalition of several ideologies at once.

Where do Americans actually land?

Few voters fit neatly in one box. The Pew Research Center’s political typology, published in June 2026, sorted Americans into nine groups based on 30 questions about political values. Pew found that most Americans fall into a large, “politically messy center.” These groups are not tidy partisan teams. About 15% of Republicans and Republican leaners hold values that place them left of center overall, and a similar share of Democrats sit right of center. The one group in the middle, the Tuned-Out Middle (9% of adults), is politically divided and pays little attention to politics.

Voters who feel left out by both parties often look at third parties, from the Libertarians to the Greens.

5 questions to place yourself on the map

Use this checklist to find your rough spot. There are no right answers, and plenty of us end up somewhere in between.

1. Taxes and spending: Should government collect more to fund programs like health care and education, or collect less and let you keep what you earn?
2. Markets: When a market produces a bad outcome, is your first instinct to regulate it or to let competition fix it?
3. Personal choices: Should the state stay out of choices about drugs, marriage and speech, or protect shared moral standards?
4. Change: Do you trust bold reform, or slow change that keeps proven institutions?
5. Power: Is the main divide between rich and poor, between ordinary citizens and elites, or between competing ideas of freedom?

Questions 1 and 2 set your economic position, 3 and 4 your social one. Question 5 tells you whether populism is part of your mix.

The questions below follow the path a case actually travels.

How do cases get to the Supreme Court?

Almost every case starts in a lower court. A party that loses in a federal court of appeals or a state’s highest court, the petitioner, asks the justices to take another look by filing a petition for a writ of certiorari, or “cert petition.” If the Court grants certiorari, it orders the lower court to send up the record of the case.

Most petitions fail. The justices review about 130 petitions a week, and law clerks in the “cert pool” write short memos on each one. Then the justices vote at a private conference.

The 2024 Term in numbers:

These figures come from the Chief Justice’s 2025 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary. The year before, it received more: 4,223 filings and heard 69 arguments.

What is the rule of four?

To grant cert, the justices must have four votes out of nine. It is a custom rather than a written law, and it lets a minority put a case on the calendar that the majority might rather skip. The justices typically take cases that involve lower courts disagreeing on the same legal question, or where the stakes for the Constitution or federal law are high. A denial sets no precedent. It leaves the lower court’s decision in place.

A few cases skip this step. Under Article III, disputes between two states, and some between states and the federal government, fall under the Court’s original jurisdiction, which means they start at the top.

How are Supreme Court justices chosen?

The Constitution’s recipe is short. Under Article II, the President nominates and the Senate gives “Advice and Consent.” In practice:

1. A seat opens through death, retirement or resignation.
2. The President announces a nominee.
3. The Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings and votes.
4. The full Senate confirms or rejects the nominee by a simple majority. Since 2017 a filibuster can no longer block a Supreme Court nominee.

Article III says judges hold office “during good Behaviour,” which works out to lifetime tenure. A justice leaves by dying, retiring or being impeached and removed, and no justice has ever been removed. The House impeached Justice Samuel Chase in 1804. The Senate acquitted him in 1805.

As of October 2026, John G. Roberts Jr. has been Chief Justice since 2005. The associate justices are Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson, who joined on June 30, 2022. Six were nominated by Republican presidents and three by Democratic presidents.

Why are there nine justices?

Because Congress said so. The Supreme Court has had nine seats since 1869. The Constitution never sets a number. The Judiciary Act of 1789 created a Court of six, and the size changed six times, peaking at ten seats in 1863 and dropping to seven in 1866, before the Judiciary Act of 1869 settled it at nine, one for each federal circuit at the time. Every later attempt to change the number, including Franklin Roosevelt’s 1937 plan, has failed. Since a statute sets the size, Congress could still change it, which is why the debate never quite ends.

What happens at oral argument?

By law, each term begins on the first Monday in October. Arguments usually run Monday through Wednesday from October to April, and with rare exceptions each side gets 30 minutes.

The justices have already read the written briefs, plus “friend of the court” briefs from outside groups, so argument is mostly questions. Lawyers often get a sentence or two of their prepared remarks in before a justice cuts in with a hypothetical. Since 2021, each justice also gets a turn in order of seniority near the end of each lawyer’s time.

Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom. The Court posts audio recordings, and for pictures the country relies on sketch artists, a job that has otherwise mostly disappeared from American life.

How are decisions written?

After the argument, the justices meet in conference. They speak in order of seniority, starting with the Chief Justice, and each justice states a vote. Nobody else is in the room, not even clerks.

If the Chief Justice is in the majority, he assigns who writes the opinion. If not, the most senior justice in the majority decides. Drafts circulate for weeks or months, and votes can shift. The decision can include three kinds of opinions:

• The majority opinion is the Court’s ruling, and lower courts must follow it. A majority of justices must agree to all of its contents.
• A concurring opinion agrees with the result but gives different or extra reasoning.
• A dissenting opinion disagrees with the outcome. Dissents have no legal force, though some get quoted years later when the Court changes course.

Most big decisions arrive in May and June.

What is judicial review?

Judicial review is the power of courts to strike down a law or government action that conflicts with the Constitution. The text does not spell it out. The Court claimed it in Marbury v. Madison (1803), where Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that “it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” The same opinion held that “a law repugnant to the constitution is void.”

This is the main way that the Supreme Court checks Congress and the President. If you want the other side of that relationship, see how Congress works.

Can Supreme Court decisions be overturned?

Yes, in three ways:

1. The Court overrules itself. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) rejected the “separate but equal” doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) overruled Roe v. Wade (1973).
2. A constitutional amendment overrides a ruling. The 11th Amendment reversed Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), and the 14th Amendment undid the citizenship holding in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).
3. Congress rewrites a statute the Court has interpreted. After Ledbetter v. Goodyear (2007), Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, following the usual path of how a bill becomes a law.

People on both sides of a given precedent disagree about when overruling is justified. The Court’s doctrine of stare decisis says it should depart from precedent only for a strong reason.

Supreme Court FAQ

How many cases does the Supreme Court hear each year?

Recently about 70 argued cases a year: 69 in the 2023 Term and 73 in the 2024 Term, out of roughly 4,000 filings.

How long do justices serve?

For life, or until they choose to retire. The Constitution sets no term limit or retirement age.

Who is the Chief Justice?

As of October 2026, John G. Roberts Jr., who took office on September 29, 2005. He is the 17th Chief Justice.

What are the most famous Supreme Court cases?

Marbury v. Madison (1803), Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Miranda v. Arizona (1966, the source of the “right to remain silent” warning) and Roe v. Wade (1973) are among the most taught.

Can the President overrule the Supreme Court?

No. A President can nominate justices when seats open and push for new legislation or an amendment, but cannot reverse a ruling alone.

That gap explains a lot about third parties in American politics. Millions of people vote for them, and every few decades a third-party candidate shakes up the presidential race. Winning is another matter. Here are the parties that matter today, their biggest breakthroughs and the rules that keep the two major parties on top. Party details are current as of October 2026.

The third parties that matter today

“Third party” means any political party other than the Democrats and Republicans. Dozens exist at the state level; these have the widest reach.

1. Libertarian Party

Founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party is the largest third party in the country and the one most likely to appear on your ballot. Libertarians want a much smaller government: low taxes, free markets, few limits on personal choices and no foreign wars.

Its best result came in 2016, when Gary Johnson won 3.28 percent. In 2024, Chase Oliver got 0.42 percent, FEC figures show. The party holds mostly offices at the local level, such as city councils and school boards.

2. Green Party

The Green Party of the United States formed in 2001, when state Green parties united and the FEC recognized it as a national party committee. Its platform rests on Ten Key Values, among them ecological wisdom, social justice and nonviolence. In practice that means fast action on climate change, single-payer health care and limits on corporate money in politics.

Jill Stein has been its nominee three times. In 2024 she won 862,049 votes, or 0.56 percent.

3. Constitution Party

The Constitution Party started in the early 1990s as the U.S. Taxpayers Party and took its current name in 1999. It wants government to follow the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as originally understood, with firmly conservative positions on abortion, immigration and federal spending. Its 2024 nominee, Randall Terry, received 41,294 votes.

4. Forward Party

Forward formed in July 2022 when Andrew Yang’s Forward Party merged with two groups led by former Republicans. Yang and former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman became co-chairs. The slogan: “Not Left. Not Right. Forward.”

Forward has no classic platform. It wants to change the rules instead, with open primaries, independent redistricting and ranked-choice voting. As of October 2026 its affiliates have ballot status in a handful of states, including Utah, where a state senator sits as a Forward member, and New Mexico, which granted it minor-party status in May 2026.

5. Smaller and past parties worth knowing

• Working Families Party: mostly backs Democrats through “fusion voting” in states such as New York, where one candidate can run on several party lines.
• Reform Party: founded by Perot after 1992; he ran as its nominee in 1996.
• American Independent Party: George Wallace’s vehicle in 1968, when he carried five Southern states.
• Independents: candidates with no party at all face the same hurdles.

Three breakthroughs that shook the presidency

Sources: National Archives and American Presidency Project (1912), FEC (1992, 2000).

1912: the Bull Moose Party

Former President Theodore Roosevelt lost the Republican Party nomination to President William Howard Taft and ran for the Progressive Party. He finished second, ahead of Taft, which no third-party candidate has done since. The split helped Democrat Woodrow Wilson win 435 electoral votes. Some Progressive ideas, such as direct election of senators, later became law.

1992: Ross Perot

The Texas businessman ran against the deficit and against trade deals, and he took part in all three presidential debates. Analysts still argue over whether he drew more from George H.W. Bush or from Bill Clinton, who led Bush by about 5.8 million votes.

2000: Ralph Nader

This race is the root of the modern spoiler debate. In Florida, George W. Bush beat Al Gore by 537 votes while Nader drew 97,488, according to the FEC. Many Democrats say Nader cost Gore the White House. Nader’s supporters reply that no candidate owns anyone’s vote, that many of his voters would have stayed home, and that every other minor candidate on Florida’s ballot also topped 537. Both sides are doing correct math; they disagree about what it proves.

Why third parties rarely win

No law requires a two-party system. The system just behaves as if one does.

First-past-the-post and Duverger’s law

Most US elections use single-member districts and plurality voting, or first-past-the-post: whoever gets the most votes wins, even without a majority. French political scientist Maurice Duverger observed that this setup tends to produce two dominant parties, a pattern now called Duverger’s law. People who fear “wasting” a vote move to the stronger major candidate, and donors follow them.

The Electoral College adds to the effect. Forty-eight states and D.C. give all their electors to the statewide winner, which is how Perot’s 19.7 million voters ended up with no electors. Our guide on how the Electoral College works has the details.

Ballot access

Each state writes its own ballot-access rules. Republicans and Democrats usually qualify automatically. A third party often has to gather thousands of signatures, and to keep its status it may need a minimum share of the vote or of registered voters. A national campaign can spend much of its money just getting listed.

The 15 percent debate threshold

For 2024, the Commission on Presidential Debates set three tests in its published selection criteria:

1. Constitutional eligibility to be president.
2. A place on enough state ballots for a mathematical chance at an Electoral College majority.
3. At least 15 percent support in the average of five national polls chosen by the commission.

No third-party candidate has met that bar since the rule arrived in 2000. In 2024 the campaigns skipped the commission and agreed on network debates instead. As of October 2026, the commission has not published criteria for 2028.

Money and borrowed ideas

Public funding depends on past results. The FEC gives partial general-election money only to a minor party whose nominee won between 5 and 25 percent last time. And when a third party finds a popular issue, a major party often adopts it, which leaves fewer reasons to switch.

Ranked-choice voting: the reform idea

With ranked-choice voting (RCV), voters rank candidates in order. If no one wins a majority of first choices, the last-place candidate drops out and those ballots go to their next choice, until someone has a majority. Maine, Alaska and Hawaii use it in at least some statewide elections, and Alaska decides on a repeal measure on November 3, 2026.

RCV has become a partisan fight of its own. Nineteen states had banned it as of March 2026, according to Ballotpedia, mostly through Republican-led legislatures, while reform groups such as Forward push for wider use. How the two major parties differ elsewhere is covered in our Democrat vs. Republican comparison.

Key takeaways

• Third parties are all parties besides the Democrats and Republicans. The biggest are the Libertarian, Green and Constitution parties; Forward is a newer, smaller party.
• The best third-party result was Roosevelt’s 27.4 percent in 1912. Perot won 18.91 percent in 1992 and no electoral votes.
• They rarely win because of first-past-the-post voting, the winner-take-all Electoral College, ballot-access rules and the 15 percent debate threshold.
• The spoiler debate, above all Nader in 2000, has no settled answer.
• Supporters say ranked-choice voting would ease the spoiler problem; 19 states have banned it. In closed primary elections, third-party members can’t vote in major-party races.

That gap between public opinion and law has a simple cause: the Constitution sets the qualifications for the job, and only an amendment can add to them. This page lays out the arguments on both sides as their own supporters make them, then compares the routes a change could take. It doesn’t pick a winner. Proposals are current as of October 2026.

Why members of Congress have no term limits

Article I lists three qualifications for the House (age 25, seven years a citizen, living in the state) and three for the Senate (age 30, nine years a citizen, living in the state). It says nothing about the number of terms a member may serve.

In the early 1990s, 23 states tried to fill that gap themselves, mostly through ballot initiatives. Arkansas passed Amendment 73 in 1992, which kept anyone who had served three House terms or two Senate terms off the general election ballot. The case reached the Supreme Court as *U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton*.

On May 22, 1995, the Court ruled 5-4 that a state cannot impose term limits or any other qualification beyond those in the Constitution, and that dressing the rule up as a ballot-access restriction didn’t change that. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority. Justice Clarence Thomas, in his dissent, argued that powers the Constitution does not take from the states remain with them and the people. Every limit a legislature had placed on its own federal delegation fell at once. Our explainer on how the Supreme Court works covers why one ruling reaches all fifty.

Two months earlier, the House had voted on its own version. H.J.Res. 73 got 227 votes to 204 on March 29, 1995, a majority but well short of the two-thirds required. No proposal of this kind has reached a floor vote in either chamber since that time.

The case for and against congressional term limits

Both camps want a Congress that works better. They disagree about whether experience is the cure or the disease.

Supporters often add that the political class in Washington has become too insulated, and that term limits are a way to bring more ordinary Americans into office. Opponents reply that the answer to an unpopular incumbent already exists, and it is called the next election.

Each side points to the states for evidence. Supporters note that term-limited legislatures see steady turnover and more open seats. Opponents cite political science studies of those same chambers that found more influence for staff, governors and lobbyists. Research supports both readings, and how much of it would carry over to Capitol Hill is disputed.

The 22nd Amendment: the model everyone cites

The president has had a limit since the 22nd Amendment. Congress passed it on March 21, 1947, and it was ratified on February 27, 1951. It caps a president at two elected terms. Supporters treat it as proof the idea works in the federal government; opponents answer that one executive is not the same as 535 lawmakers who need policy expertise. The full history is in our page on presidential term limits.

There is a certain irony in the process: a congressional limit needs two-thirds of the people it would limit to vote for it. Few employees get to approve their own exit date.

What it would take: three routes compared

After *Thornton*, the realistic paths all run through Article V of the Constitution.

Under the first route, a joint resolution does not go to the president for a signature, unlike an ordinary bill (see how a bill becomes a law for the usual path). Recent proposals give the ratification process a seven-year deadline.

The convention route is where advocacy groups such as U.S. Term Limits and the Convention of States Project put their effort, by asking legislatures to pass applications. Supporters see it as a way around a Congress that would have to vote against its own interest. Critics worry a convention could take up subjects beyond term limits, and the Constitution doesn’t spell out the rules for running one.

Current proposals in the 119th Congress

As of October 2026, the two main resolutions share the same design: three terms (six years) for House members and two terms (12 years) for senators.

• H.J.Res. 12, sponsored by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), introduced January 6, 2025, with 115 cosponsors (107 Republicans, 8 Democrats). Its latest action is referral to the House Judiciary Committee, according to the resolution’s Congress.gov record.
• S.J.Res. 1, sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), introduced January 7, 2025, with 19 Republican cosponsors. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Neither has received a committee vote. Both count terms only from ratification onward, so no sitting member would be pushed out right away. Reaching 290 House votes and 67 Senate votes is a different matter, and our guide to how Congress works explains why committee referral is where most resolutions stop.

Term limits in state legislatures

States can limit their own lawmakers, and 16 do, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. North Dakota is the newest, after a constitutional measure passed in 2022. Six others had limits that were repealed or struck down by courts. Legislative term limits have been studied for decades, which makes them the closest thing the federal debate has to a real-world test.

FAQ

Do members of Congress have term limits?

No. Representatives serve two-year terms and senators six-year terms, and both can run for reelection any number of times.

Can a state limit how long its own members of Congress serve?

No. The Supreme Court ruled in *U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton* (1995) that states cannot add to the qualifications in the Constitution.

Do Americans support term limits?

Yes, by wide margins. Gallup found about three-quarters support in January 2013, and Pew found 87% in 2023.

How could term limits for members of Congress become law?

Through a constitutional amendment, proposed either by two-thirds of both chambers or by a convention requested by 34 legislatures, then ratified by 38.

A dollar and a half sounds trivial now. Its history explains why the term still turns up in arguments about voting rules.

What a poll tax is

A poll tax is a flat fee per person, the same for a farmhand and a bank president. “Poll” is an old word for “head,” so historians also call it a head tax. As a way to raise money for government, it is simply regressive. It became a voting tool when states made payment a condition of registering or casting a ballot.

Where poll taxes in the Southern states came from

Colonial governments collected head taxes as ordinary revenue, and for a long time they did not have anything to do with voting. That changed after the Civil War. As Reconstruction ended in 1877, Southern legislatures looked for ways to keep Black men from voting without openly breaking the Fifteenth Amendment, which bars denying the vote “on account of race.”

The Library of Congress says the tax was revived after Reconstruction to restrict voting “for underprivileged people in general and African Americans in particular.” Poll taxes were rarely used alone. States stacked them with other devices:

• literacy tests, graded by local registrars,
• “grandfather clauses” that exempted men whose ancestors could vote before the war,
• the “white primary,” which closed the decisive Democratic primary elections to Black voters,
• long residency rules and, often, intimidation.

The Supreme Court approved the arrangement in Breedlove v. Suttles (1937), a challenge to Georgia’s tax. As long as that ruling stood, states could keep charging.

Who paid the price, including poor white voters

Because the law never mentioned race, it hit anyone short on cash. The National Archives notes that poll taxes “had long been a method to disenfranchise the poor and people of color.” In the South, that meant two large groups. Black citizens faced higher poverty plus every other barrier on the list above. Poor white farmers and mill workers often could not spare the money either.

The fine print made a small fee bigger than it looked:

1. Timing. Payment was usually due months before the election, long before campaigns got anyone’s attention.
2. Accumulation. In some states the tax was cumulative, so a voter who skipped a few years owed all of them before registering again.
3. Paperwork. Voters had to keep their receipt and sometimes show it at the polls.
4. Household math. Every adult paid separately, so a family with several eligible voters paid several times.

Grandfather clauses spared some white men from these rules, but not all of them. A National Archives history of the Twenty-fourth Amendment notes that poor white voters were shut out alongside Black voters.

How the poll tax was abolished

Ending it took about three decades and two routes: a constitutional amendment for federal races, then a Supreme Court case for state elections. According to the Constitution Annotated, the push in Congress to drop the tax as a qualification for federal elections began in 1939. Congress finally sent an amendment to the states in 1962, at the height of the civil rights movement.

The Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)

The text of the 24th Amendment at the National Archives is short. The right to vote in any primary or other election for President, Vice President, presidential electors, Senator or Representative “shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.” Congress passed it on August 27, 1962, and the states ratified it on January 23, 1964. Mississippi was the only Southern state that voted to reject it. Amendments need two-thirds of both chambers before the states weigh in, a process covered in how Congress works.

The catch: this change to the United States Constitution covered federal elections only. Virginia kept its tax for state races and tried to keep federal voters paying, too, by offering a residence certificate as the only alternative. The Court struck that down in Harman v. Forssenius (1965).

Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966)

Combined with a similar suit by Evelyn Thomas Butts, Harper’s case was argued in January 1966 and decided 6-3 on March 24. Writing for the majority, Justice William O. Douglas said that “voter qualifications have no relation to wealth.” A state that makes paying a fee a voting standard therefore violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling overruled Breedlove on that point. For how a dispute like this reaches the justices, see how the Supreme Court works.

The dissenters did not defend disenfranchisement. Justice Hugo Black argued that changing the Constitution’s meaning was a job for amendments, not judges. Justice John Marshall Harlan, joined by Justice Potter Stewart, said a state could rationally use the tax to raise revenue and to favor voters with a stake in public affairs.

Is anything a poll tax today?

No state charges a fee to vote. Courts do allow incidental costs, though, such as the time and paperwork of getting an ID or the stamp on a mail ballot. Where those costs end and a modern poll tax begins is still argued.

• Voter ID laws. Critics say ID requirements work like a poll tax when the underlying documents, such as a birth certificate, cost money or time. Supporters say a free ID card removes the fee and that ID rules protect confidence in results. In Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (2008), the Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s photo ID law 6-3, noting that the state issued ID cards free of charge.
• Fines and fees after a felony. After Florida voters restored voting rights to most people with felony convictions in 2018, the legislature required them to pay court fines and fees first. Opponents called that a poll tax. Florida argued that paying a sentence in full is part of the sentence. In 2020, the full Eleventh Circuit sided with Florida 6-4, holding that the rule is not a poll tax under the Twenty-fourth Amendment.

Both sides in these fights cite Harper. They disagree about whether a cost tied to something other than voting counts.

Poll tax FAQ

When was the poll tax abolished?

In two steps: the Twenty-fourth Amendment banned it in federal elections in 1964, and Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections banned it in state and local elections in 1966.

How much was the poll tax?

Usually a dollar or two a year. Virginia’s was capped at $1.50. Where the tax was cumulative, missed years added up.

Did the poll tax affect white voters?

Yes. It applied to everyone, so poor white voters lost access too, though Black citizens carried the heaviest burden because the tax was combined with other barriers aimed at them.

What is the difference between a poll tax and a literacy test?

A poll tax charged money. A literacy test demanded proof of reading or civics knowledge, judged by local officials. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 suspended literacy tests in covered areas, and Congress later banned them nationwide, first temporarily in 1970 and permanently in 1975.

The bill passed anyway, shortly after he finished. The speech still became the most famous answer to the question “what is a filibuster?”: a senator keeps talking so the chamber can’t get to a vote. Thurmond’s mark for the longest individual speech stood for almost 68 years, until Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey spoke for about 25 hours in April 2025. Booker wasn’t blocking a particular measure, which shows how loosely the word gets used.

What Thurmond’s speech shows about how a filibuster works

The House of Representatives limits how long members may speak. The Senate, for most of its history, did not. Once recognized, senators can hold the floor, and as long as debate isn’t over, nobody votes. Anything that drags out debate to block or delay action counts as filibustering.

Senators have used several tools:

• long speeches, the classic version Thurmond made famous,
• offering one amendment after another, with more amendments waiting,
• demanding quorum calls and roll call votes,
• objecting to the “unanimous consent” agreements the Senate uses to move quickly,
• and simply announcing a filibuster threat, which today is usually enough.

The word itself is older than the rule. According to the Senate Historical Office, “filibuster” comes from a Dutch word for “pirate” and became popular in the 1850s.

How many votes does it take to end a filibuster?

From 1789 to 1917, there was no rule to cut off debate. A filibuster ended by unanimous consent, by compromise, or when the talkers were exhausted. Then, in early 1917, a small group of senators talked to death a measure to arm merchant ships before World War I. President Woodrow Wilson called them “a little group of willful men,” and the Senate adopted Rule XXII, the cloture rule, that March.

The threshold has changed a few times since, but the Senate has kept the basic idea:

Changing the rules themselves still takes two-thirds of senators voting. In the four decades after 1917, cloture succeeded only five times.

Here’s how it works today, according to the Congressional Research Service. Sixteen senators sign the cloture motion, and the vote comes after an intervening day. If the cloture vote reaches three-fifths, consideration is limited to 30 more hours. Cloture doesn’t pass anything. It ends the talking, and the measure still needs a final vote.

What is the difference between a talking and a silent filibuster?

Thurmond’s speech is the image most people have, but it is rare now. Starting in the early 1970s, leaders began running a “two-track” system: a filibustered measure is set aside while the chamber works on other business. That kept the Senate from grinding to a halt, and it also made filibustering cheap.

The result is the “silent” filibuster. A senator, or more often the minority party, signals opposition, and the Senate Majority Leader knows nothing moves without 60 votes. Nobody has to stand at a lectern overnight. In practice, the filibuster now works less like a speech and more like a standing 60-vote requirement for most legislation.

This is why “bring back the talking filibuster” keeps coming up as a reform idea. Supporters say it would make obstruction cost something. Skeptics point out that it would also eat up floor time needed for everything else.

What is the nuclear option, and what else skips the 60 votes?

The filibuster has holes, and both parties have made some of them.

Nominations

In November 2013, Democrats, then in the majority, used the nuclear option: they overruled the chair to set a precedent that cloture on executive and lower-court nominees needs only a simple majority. In April 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court picks. In September 2025, Senate Republicans set another precedent so certain executive nominees can be confirmed in groups.

Budget reconciliation

Under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, debate on a reconciliation bill is limited to 20 hours. Because time runs out on its own, no cloture vote is needed and 51 votes can pass it. The catch is the Byrd rule, which keeps “extraneous” provisions out. That’s why big tax and spending packages often travel this route and many other policies can’t.

For most legislation, though, the 60-vote bar is still the rule, a point covered in our walkthrough of how a bill becomes a law.

Can the filibuster be eliminated? Both sides of the debate

Democrats and Republicans have each argued both sides of it, depending on who held the majority. Here are the main arguments, in each side’s own terms.

Arguments for keeping it:

• It protects the minority party and forces the majority to build broader coalitions.
• Laws passed with 60 votes usually have support from both parties, which supporters say makes them more durable.
• The Senate was meant to be the slower chamber, and the filibuster keeps it that way.
• Today’s majority will be tomorrow’s minority.

Arguments for ending or changing it:

• Voters elect a majority to pass its agenda, and a 60-vote bar lets a minority block it.
• The silent filibuster makes blocking a bill almost costless.
• The rule has a long history of being used against civil rights legislation, including the bill Thurmond tried to stop.
• The exceptions for nominations and reconciliation show the chamber can function without it.

Eliminating the filibuster outright would require changing Rule XXII or setting a new precedent by majority vote, the same way the 2013 and 2017 changes happened. For how the chamber fits into the wider system, see how Congress works, and for where each party stands on issues, our guide to Democrats vs. Republicans.

Where things stand as of October 2026

As of October 2026, the legislative filibuster is still in place. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to eliminate it, but Majority Leader John Thune has said his conference doesn’t support eliminating the filibuster. Some Democratic Senate candidates say they would end it if their party wins control, and others haven’t committed.

In early October 2026, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) floated a bipartisan proposal to speed up floor action. It would cut post-cloture time from 30 to 12 hours for certain bills and fast-track broadly bipartisan legislation while keeping the 60-vote threshold for final passage. It has not been adopted. The Senate’s own overview of filibusters and cloture lays out the current rules.

Key takeaways: what is a filibuster?

• A filibuster is any tactic that delays or blocks a Senate vote by preventing debate from ending.
• Cloture, under Rule XXII since 1917, now takes 60 votes for most legislation (two-thirds until 1975).
• Marathon speeches like Thurmond’s 24 hours and 18 minutes are rare; usually, the threat alone sets a 60-vote bar.
• Nominations need only a majority since 2013 and 2017, and budget reconciliation is limited to 20 hours of debate.
• The House has no filibuster, because its rules limit debate.
• Supporters call it a protection for the minority, critics call it minority rule, and as of October 2026 it is still standing.

Below you’ll find a side-by-side table, each party’s case in its own words, who votes for each, and who holds office as of October 2026. There is no verdict at the end, because picking a party is your job. Instead you get a short way to work out where you stand.

Democrat vs. Republican: the policy differences at a glance

The positions come from each party’s most recent national platform, adopted at its 2024 national convention. A platform is drafted by a committee every four years, approved by convention delegates, and read in full mainly by the people who wrote it. Still, it is the party’s official position.

How each party makes its case

Here is the reasoning behind their economic and social policies, as each party’s supporters would put it.

The Democratic case

Democrats have long seen government as a tool people can use together to solve problems that individuals can’t fix alone. In an April 2024 Pew survey, 76% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said the government should do more to solve problems. The Democratic platform builds on that idea:

• The economy works best when the middle class and working families get the gains, so taxes should rise on the very wealthy and large corporations, not on households under $400,000.
• Access to health care, preschool and college should not depend on income.
• Climate change is an urgent threat, and clean energy can also lower household power bills.
• Rights such as voting and abortion access need federal protection so they don’t vary from state to state.

The Republican case

Republicans have long seen a large government as a risk to freedom and to family budgets. In the same Pew survey, 71% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said the government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals. The Republican platform builds on that idea:

• Lower taxes and lighter regulation let people keep more of what they earn, and that gives businesses the room to hire.
• A secure border and strong law enforcement come first, because a country has to control who enters it.
• Cheap, plentiful American energy lowers prices for everyone.
• Many decisions, from abortion law to schooling, belong with states, parents and communities, not Washington.

Both lists claim to protect ordinary families. The main difference between them is whether the federal government is mostly the solution or mostly the obstacle.

Who votes for each party

The two coalitions look different, though neither party is a monolith. Pew’s political party affiliation data, gathered from January 30 to June 18, 2026, among 5,511 adults, shows these splits (full numbers in Pew’s party affiliation fact sheet):

The bigger story may be the middle. Pew found that 44% of adults call themselves independents or “something else,” but most of them lean toward one of the two parties. That is one reason a handful of swing states decide so many national elections, and why the primary elections that pick each party’s candidates matter so much.

Who holds power right now (as of October 2026)

• President: Donald Trump, a Republican, with Vice President JD Vance.
• House of Representatives: Republicans hold 218 seats and Democrats 214, with one independent and two vacancies, according to the Clerk of the House.
• Senate: Republicans hold 53 seats; Democrats hold 45, plus two independents who caucus with the Democrats.

All 435 House seats and about a third of the Senate are on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026, so these numbers may change soon.

Questions people ask about Democrats and Republicans

Is every Democrat liberal and every Republican conservative?

Mostly, but not entirely. Each party has moderates, and plenty of voters mix views. Ideology is its own topic, covered in our guide to liberal vs. conservative.

Did the Democratic and Republican parties switch sides?

Their voter bases did shift. After the New Deal of the 1930s and the civil rights laws of the 1960s, the once solidly Democratic South moved toward the Republican Party, while parts of the Northeast moved the other way. Historians still debate how much of that was a switch in ideas and how much was a sorting of voters.

Why is the Republican Party red and the Democratic Party blue?

For a long time, TV networks used the colors inconsistently. The current scheme stuck after the coverage of the 2000 presidential election.

What if neither party fits me?

The United States also has third parties, even if the election system makes it hard for them to win.

How to figure out where you stand

Skip the labels and answer these questions honestly:

1. When a problem is too big for families to solve, should Washington take the lead, or should states, charities and markets?
2. Would you rather pay more in taxes for broader public services, or pay less and keep more choices yourself?
3. Which worries you more on immigration: too little border enforcement, or too few legal paths for people already here?
4. Should abortion, gun and election rules be set nationally or state by state?
5. On energy, what comes first for you: lower emissions, or lower prices and more domestic production?

If your answers lean one way on almost everything, you probably know which platform fits you better. If they’re mixed, you are like a lot of Americans. Read both platforms yourself, compare them with your answers, and keep in mind that no party asks you to agree with every line.