While this is an ‘off-year’ election due to the fact that we’re not voting for a president, there are an enormous amount of candidates vying for your attention every day, on television, through direct mail and even some times on social media.

How do you decide who to vote for?

Hello, and welcome back to another edition of A User’s Guide to Democracy! If you’re new here, you can check out our previous pieces on what you need to know about political advertising and our round up of the deadlines, rules, and links you need to vote in this year’s midterms.

Today, let’s talk about who you’re actually voting for in the midterm election: members of Congress. Made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Congress is tasked with making laws on our behalf, writes Cynthia Gordy Giwa for propublica.org.

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Since senators keep their jobs for six years at a time, a lot of places don’t have a Senate race this year. But no matter where you live, your congressional district is voting for a House representative in this election. So today I’m going to focus on how you can keep tabs on your representative,

Most of us learned what Congress does back in elementary school social studies (maybe supplemented with some Saturday morning “Schoolhouse Rock”). It probably went something like this:

1. A senator or representative introduces a bill.
2. The bill goes to a committee for hearings and approval.
3. It is debated and voted on from the House and Senate floors.
4. A compromise version is worked out.
5. The resulting bill is voted on to become a law.

To read the complete story click here.

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