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Ready for November 3: A Voter Guide for Every State

Voter guides for all 50 states before Election Day, citizenship test practice, a government glossary, a new In the Legislature tab, and six history pages.

Sent

Hello everyone,

Last month I shared that the whole site was available in Spanish. Since then, it has been the busiest stretch in the life of usgovexplained.org, with more than two hundred updates in about a month.

With the midterm elections only days away, I'll start there.

A Voter Guide for Every State (Election Day: Tuesday, November 3)

Every one of the 50 state pages now has a Voter Information tab for the 2026 midterms. It walks through what is on your ballot: the U.S. House races, the U.S. Senate and governor's races where your state has them, and any statewide ballot measures, along with what each measure would actually do.

The homepage also has a countdown to Election Day, and the Midterm Elections page explains how midterms work and links straight to your state's guide.

If you know someone who will be voting for the first time, this is a good place to send them.

Find your state's voter guide

Two New Learning Tools, in English and Spanish

Citizenship Test Practice: all 128 official civics questions from the 2025 U.S. naturalization test, word for word from USCIS. Study every answer, or take a practice interview that ends the way the real one does: 12 right to pass.

Glossary of Government Terms: more than 160 terms, from appropriations to writ of certiorari, each with a short definition and a link to the page that explains it in full. Searchable, with an A to Z index.

The citizenship practice page links directly to the official USCIS question list, so anyone preparing for their interview can check every question against the source.

What Your Lawmakers Are Working On

Every state page also has a new In the Legislature tab with the five biggest things your state legislature is doing or just did, explained in a few short paragraphs each. For Washington, D.C., the new What Congress Is Working On page does the same for Congress.

These are reviewed every month, so they stay current as bills move.

Six New History Pages

Each one is available in English and Spanish:

Also New Around the Site

  • Death penalty explainers for the nation, for all 50 states (a new tab on each state page), and for the military, where the President must approve every execution. Read more
  • Quick Facts and Common Questions on every state and territory page, in both languages.
  • Official portraits of all 15 Cabinet department heads on their department pages.
  • Smarter search that understands what you mean, not only the exact words you type. Press Ctrl+K (or Cmd+K on a Mac) on any page.
  • A "Last updated" date at the bottom of every page, so you always know how fresh the information is.
  • Deeper pages throughout, with fuller explanations and more links between related topics, so one question leads naturally to the next.
  • Friendlier Spanish: the older Spanish pages were reworded in warmer, everyday Spanish.
  • Faster pages, especially on phones, and a branded preview image whenever you share a page on social media.
  • Your privacy, your choice: a new Privacy Policy and a cookie banner where everything optional stays off unless you turn it on.

Two Easy Ways to Help This Month

Before November 3: share your state's voter guide with a friend, a family group chat, or a class. A few minutes of reading can make a ballot a lot less confusing.

Anytime: if you know someone preparing to become a U.S. citizen, or a teacher, librarian, or community group that helps people who are, please pass along the citizenship test practice page. It is free, works on a phone, and is available in Spanish.

Links from schools, libraries, and community organizations remain one of the best ways for more people to find the site. Thank you to everyone who has already shared it.

Looking Ahead

After the election, the focus turns to keeping the state and Congress pages current as new lawmakers take office, and to more history, including more of the stories of the communities that built America.

As always, if you spot something that could be clearer, or a topic you'd like to see covered, I'd love to hear from you through the Contact page.

See you at the polls,

David

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