Why Is Election Day on a Tuesday in the U.S., and How Many Other Countries Have Weekday Elections?
The U.S. is one of 28 democratic countries that routinely holds national elections on non-holiday weekdays.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Drew DeSilver
Senior Writer/Editor
Drew DeSilver is a senior writer at Pew Research Center.
Publications
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So Far, the 119th Congress Is Among the Least Productive of the Past 40 Years
The 119th Congress has enacted 121 laws so far, the second fewest of any Congress in the past four decades.
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2026 primary season yields greatest preelection House turnover in over 3 decades
74 House members won’t return next Congress – more than before any general election since 1992.
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The U.S. Constitution is among the hardest in the world to amend
Of all 101 democratic constitutions we examined, the U.S. Constitution has the second-most onerous amendment process.
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How South Koreans view their relationship with the U.S.
For the first time in over 20 years, a majority of South Koreans have an unfavorable opinion of the U.S.
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Is teen summer employment in the U.S. rebounding after a long fade?
Only 35.5% of U.S. teens ages 16 to 19 worked this summer, up slightly from 2025 but far below the more than half who worked most summers before 2000.
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Most Americans favor big changes to the political system that likely would require amending the Constitution
Most Americans support term limits, campaign spending caps, and Electoral College reform, but achieving these changes likely would require amending one of the world’s hardest constitutions to change.
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U.S. foreign aid is plunging in second Trump administration
U.S. foreign aid fell to its lowest inflation-adjusted level in over two decades in fiscal 2025, dropping to $47.3 billion — more than $24 billion less than the prior year.
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8 ways that U.S.-style democracy stands out globally
As the U.S. celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, here are eight ways its political system stands apart from the world’s other 105 democracies.
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Have Americans’ wages kept up with inflation? That depends
Determining whether workers’ wages have kept up with inflation depends on many factors.
