Whether your interest in politics is more concrete or you get involved in voting every November, it’s always a good idea to brush up on some of the buzzwords you’ll hear during election season and remember who’s running and how CNN ranks the races. .

Here are answers to many basic questions.

What is “replaced seat” or “taken”?

A transferred or elected seat is a seat in the House or Senate that voters transfer from one party to another. Due to realignment, nine House seats, including seven new seats with no incumbents and two seats where two incumbents face each other, cannot be classified as elected by any party.

What is “position” or “position”?

“Incumbent” or incumbent is a member of the legislature or elected official who is running for re-election.

What is a special election?

When a senator retires, dies or leaves office, the state governor usually appoints a replacement to fill the seat. After that, voters usually have a chance to have their say at the next federal election. Democratic Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Raphael Warnock of Georgia were first elected in special elections in 2020, and they are both running for full six-year terms in 2022.

This year, there are special Senate elections in Oklahoma, where the Republican Senate. James Inhofe will resign next year, and in California, Democrat Sen. Alex Padilla, who was appointed to replace Vice President Kamala Harris, is running in both to fill the remainder. Harris’ term (which ends in January) to win next.

Members of the House of Representatives cannot be appointed, so when a House seat becomes vacant a special election must be held to fill it. This year, Indiana has a special election to fill the last two months of Governor Jackie Walorski’s term. Walorski died in August.

What is ranked-choice voting?

Many cities and states are experimenting with ways to give voters more access to the political process and polarize politics. Ranked-choice voting is a system used in most elections in Maine and Alaska in which voters rank their preferences based on preference rather than choosing a candidate. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-place votes, the last candidate is eliminated and a second choice of voters who chose that candidate receives those votes.

This process is repeated until a winner emerges.

What is “vote evaluation”?

Companies can predict how many votes are expected in a given election based on data such as turnout in previous elections, registered or requested ballots, and pre-election polls. A vote estimate can underestimate or overestimate the actual vote, and percentages of information can increase or decrease throughout election night depending on how those estimates are adjusted as analysts evaluate the data in real time. As those estimates are aggregated, they are useful in predicting how many votes should be counted.

What is “under the ballot”?

At the top of the ballot is the vote that the largest number of people in a state see on their ballot.
In a presidential election, those candidates will be at the top of the ballot. Most of the local body election candidates are at the bottom of the ballot. For example, a candidate for the House of Representatives is below a presidential candidate. A mayoral candidate is below a House candidate.

How can CNN project an election where there are still no votes?

It’s a mission CNN takes very seriously. Based on previous election results, opinion polls, recent polls, early voting and other factors, it is sometimes possible to see that a particular candidate will win the election. CNN refrains from predicting an outcome if there is any possibility of change.