ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

2016 United States Senate elections

Okay kiddo, so the United States Senate is a group of people who help make important decisions for the country. In 2016, some of these people had to run for office again so they could keep doing their job in the Senate.

Each state in the United States gets to choose two people to be Senators. So, in 2016, people in different states got to vote for who they wanted to be their Senators.

It's kind of like when you're playing a game of tag with your friends, and you have to choose two team captains. Each captain picks a team member to be on their team, and they both take turns until all the players have been picked.

In the Senate elections, there were two main political parties: the Democrats and the Republicans. The people running for Senate in each state were either Democrats or Republicans.

People who wanted to vote had to go to a special place called a polling place. There, they could fill out a special ballot that said who they wanted to be their Senator.

After the voting was done, the people in charge counted up all the ballots to see who won. If a Democrat got the most votes in a state, then a Democrat got to be a Senator. If a Republican got the most votes in a state, then a Republican got to be a Senator.

And that's pretty much it! The 2016 United States Senate elections determined who would get to keep their job as a Senator, and who would get to be a new Senator. It's an important part of how our country works, and helps shape the decisions that affect all of us.