The people
Elect members of Congress under the Constitution and amendments.
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🇺🇸 Government power map
Who selects whom in United States?
Federal presidential constitutional system
United States
6 institutions · 8 relationshipsHow power connects
Select an institution or a connection to explore.
Follow who selects, appoints or checks whom.
About this system
The Constitution vests federal legislative, executive, and judicial power separately, then creates overlapping appointment, veto, override, impeachment, removal, and constitutional-review relationships.
No invented arrows. A line is published only when an attached constitution or official institution explicitly supports the relationship. An institution source by itself does not justify an inferred line.
8 formal relationships drawn · 2 sources · Verified 2026-08-28
The dots
Institutions represented on this map.
Each institution below has an attached source. Being listed does not imply an unshown formal relationship.
States
Appoint presidential electors in the manner directed by state legislatures.
Presidential electors
Cast the constitutionally prescribed votes for President and Vice President.
Congress
The House and Senate exercise federal legislative powers and separate impeachment functions.
President
Exercises federal executive power and participates in legislation through presentment and veto.
Federal judiciary
The Supreme Court and lower federal courts exercise the federal judicial power.
Evidence and limits
Every line has a source. Every missing layer stays visible.
The map describes formal national relationships only. It does not measure democratic quality, legitimacy, actual compliance, or informal influence.
Official or constitutional source
Constitution of the United States
Congress.gov, Library of Congress
- branch vesting
- Congressional elections
- presidential electors
- appointments
- presentment and veto
- impeachment and removal
Separation of Powers Under the Constitution
Constitution Annotated, Congress.gov
- separation of powers
- veto and override
- constitutional review
Source notes
Not mapped yetResearch gaps, not assumptions.
- Independent agencies and statutory appointment structures
- State constitutions and state-local power
- Informal party and institutional influence
These maps describe selected formal national relationships, not every informal source of political power.
Reading guideElection results
How to interpret this record
United States Government Power Map: Who Selects Whom
An election result is a dated publication about a defined contest and reporting area. Certification status, ballot accounting and the voting system determine what the numbers can support.
Identify the election and the reporting stage
A preliminary publication, an election-night update and a final certified result describe different stages. Electionpedia retains the source’s status rather than treating every displayed number as final. For historical research, the source version remains important because later corrections can change a total without changing the identity of the election.
Read the denominator
A vote share needs a denominator: candidate votes, valid votes, ballots cast or another published base. Turnout can use a different base again. Compare the labels before comparing percentages. A margin in votes and a margin in percentage points answer related but different questions.
Read the full election results guide →