Plainly

Who does what?

Government has a lot of different roles, and it's not always obvious who's responsible for what. Tap any role below for a plain-language explanation of what it does, how long they serve, and how they get elected.

Federal

The national government — based in Washington, D.C., it sets laws and policy for the whole country.

State

Your state government — handles things like schools, state taxes, roads, and state-level laws.

Local

Your city, town, and county — handles things like roads, parks, police, zoning, and local schools.

To find out who currently holds these roles, check house.gov, senate.gov, or your state and local government websites.