When people say "the 2027 election," they often picture the presidential race. But on election day you will choose people for several different offices — each with very different powers over your life. Here is what each seat actually does.
The offices you vote for
- President. Head of the federal government and commander-in-chief. Sets national policy, the federal budget, foreign affairs and security. Elected nationwide for a four-year term.
- Governor. Chief executive of your state — arguably the office that touches daily life most: state roads, schools, primary healthcare, and security coordination. One per state, four-year term.
- Senator. Your state's voice in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Three senatorial districts per state make 109 senators who pass federal laws and confirm appointments.
- Member, House of Representatives. Your federal constituency's seat in the lower chamber — 360 members who make laws and control the federal purse alongside the Senate.
- Member, State House of Assembly. Your constituency's representative at the state level — they pass state laws and oversee the governor.
Two election days, not one
The general election runs in two rounds. The Presidential and National Assembly elections (President, Senate, House of Reps) come first. About two weeks later come the Governorship and State Assembly elections. A common mistake is to vote in the first round and skip the second — even though the governor and your state assembly member shape your roads, schools and clinics most directly. (Eight states run their governorship off-cycle, so they will not appear on the 2027 governorship ballot.)
How to use PoliticsDirect
That is a lot of names to track. We built the directory to make it simple:
- Search any candidate by name, party, state or constituency.
- Find your state's ballot from the home page and drill down to your area.
- Compare candidates head-to-head — office, party and platform side by side — on our comparison tool.
- Start at the top with the presidential race.
Go in knowing exactly who is asking for your vote, and what the job they are seeking actually involves.
PoliticsDirect is non-partisan. Candidate data is compiled from public pre-election declarations and shown equally for every party.