The American people go to the polls today in the midterm election to elect their representatives for the two Houses of Congress.
The House of Representatives (HoR) consists out of 435 members and all must be elected today. The Senate consists out of 100 Senators representing 50 states. Of these, 35 new ones must be elected today. 36 States must also elect a new governor and a number of states must vote on legislation such as same sex marriage, abortion and legalization of marijuana.
The midterm election is generally regarded as the approval referendum for a president. Currently both Houses are run by a Republican majority, but the Democrats might just succeed to achieve the 218 representatives to swing the HoR.
The party whose candidate is currently in the White House as a rule loses support in the midterm election and with an all time low approval rating of 42% for Trump, the Republicans can expect trouble today.
In Texas and Georgia, traditionally two very conservative states, the Democrats are on the rise. The Democrat candidate for the governorship of Georgia, if elected, will be the first black female state governor in US History.
If the Democrats succeed in gaining a majority in the HoR today, it is expected that they will table a motion of impeachment against the president. This will go to the vote and if 51% of HoR members vote for that, a Senate Commission is appointed under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.
The members of the House serve as prosecution and the Senate as jury. If the Commission finds the president guilty of treason, bribery, high crimes or misdemeanour with a majority vote of 67%, he is removed from office and the vice president takes over for the remainder of the term (as was the case with Nixon / Ford)
Today’s election is therefore an indication of how much support Donald Trump has in his own country and how the remaining two years of his first term in office will look like.
By tonight he will know…
Read the original article on Front Nasionaal SA
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