English · Première générale · LVA · B1 towards B1+ · adapted version
Session 2: Checks and balances: why the midterms matter
Read one step, do it, then move on. Answers are hidden: click to check.
Step one
Recap check
Who painted The Verdict of the People, and what does it show?
Say where something is in the painting, with a place marker.
Make one deduction about a person in the painting, with must or might.
Answer key
George Caleb Bingham, 1854-1855: a crowd hears the results of an election in front of a courthouse.
For example: In the foreground, a man is waving a handkerchief.
For example: The man on the steps must be reading the results.
Step two
Words to know
Word
Meaning
checks and balances
the system in which each branch limits the others
to hold a majority
to have more than half of the seats
to pass a bill
to vote a proposed law
to veto, to override a veto
to reject a bill / to cancel that rejection
gridlock
a situation where nothing can be decided
Step three
Read, one sentence per line
Midterm elections take place halfway through a president's four-year term.
On Tuesday 3 November 2026, Americans elected all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 senators: 33 in regular elections and two special elections, in Florida and Ohio.
Thirty-six states also elected a governor.
Before the vote, the Republican Party, the party of President Donald Trump, controlled both chambers: 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats in the House (official list of the Clerk of the House, 1 October 2026), 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats and independents who vote with them in the Senate.
A party needs 218 seats for a majority in the House and 51 in the Senate. With 50 senators each, the Vice President, JD Vance, breaks the tie.
The new Congress meets on 3 January 2027.
Under the Constitution, laws must be passed by both chambers. The president can veto a bill, but Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
The Senate confirms judges and ministers and approves treaties, by a two-thirds vote for treaties. The House alone can impeach a president; the Senate holds the trial.
What exactly did Americans elect on 3 November 2026?
Which party controlled Congress before the vote?
What majorities are needed in each chamber?
Answer key
All 435 members of the House, 35 senators (33 regular, 2 special) and 36 governors.
The Republican Party, in both chambers.
218 seats in the House; 51 in the Senate, or 50 plus the Vice President.
Step five
Grammar
Passive = be + past participle; the agent is introduced by by. Use it when the action matters more than the person: All 435 members were elected on 3 November. A bill must be passed by both chambers. The results will be certified by each state.
Voters elected 35 senators. → 35 senators .
Both chambers must pass a bill. → A bill .
The Senate confirms judges. → Judges .
Answer key
35 senators were elected (by voters).
A bill must be passed by both chambers.
Judges are confirmed by the Senate.
Step six
Your turn
In pairs. A asks, B explains, then swap: What is a midterm? What is at stake? What happens if the opposition wins the House?
Key points
Key points: an election halfway through the president's term; all of the House, a third of the Senate, governors; if the opposition wins the House, it can block bills and the budget and open investigations.
Step seven
Homework
Revise the passive. Write five passive sentences about the American institutions (Congress, the Senate, the president, the Constitution).
Key points
Examples: The laws are made by Congress. The president is elected for four years. Judges are confirmed by the Senate. The Constitution was signed in 1787. A veto can be overridden by Congress.