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United States of America
Women in decision-making positions
No data on number of women in elected deliberative bodies
No woman is Head of State/Government
29%
Parliamentarians are women
33%
Ministers are women

Government organization

The United States of America is a federal republic with three spheres of government: federal, intermediate (state), and local.

One tier of central government, one tier of intermediate government and one or two tiers of local government
Federal government
  • Head of State: The President is elected by an electoral college composed of electors appointed from each state.
  • Head of Government: The President is the Head of State and the Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: Congress is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the House of Representatives). Members of Congress are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet is composed of the Vice-President and the heads of the executive departments, who are nominated and appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate.
State government
  • Legislative body: The state legislature/general assembly/general court is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the state senate) and a lower house (the state assembly/house of representatives/house of delegates).Members of the state legislature/general assembly/general court are directly elected by the voters of the state.
  • Executive body: The state governor, elected directly by voters of the state, is the executive at the state level of government.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into one or two tiers, consisting of: an upper tier of 3,031 county-level local government units (otherwise known as “boroughs” in the State of Alaska, or “parishes” in the State of Louisiana), and a lower tier of 35,879 municipal and township-level local government units.
  • Each of the five boroughs of New York City is coterminous with a county. There are also 40 consolidated city-counties, in which the municipal government is simultaneously responsible for both county and municipal functions in a single-tiered system of local government. Additionally, the District of Columbia is a municipal government under the direct supervision of Congress.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for issuing local ordinances and levying and collecting local taxes.
  • Ministerial oversight: at the state level

Overview of local government

Local government composition
County-level government

Deliberative body: The county board of commissioners/supervisors (or equivalent) is composed of elected members.

Executive body: The county executive (or equivalent) is the executive of the county level of government.

Municipal and township-level government

Deliberative body: The municipal council/town board (or equivalent) is composed of elected members.

Executive body: The mayor is the executive of the municipal/township level of government.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for local deliberative bodies: plurality

  • A single individual with a plurality of votes wins an election and the seat for a given position or district. Second or third place finishers gain nothing and will be represented only if their party's candidates are successful in other districts.
  • Council races using the common at-large electoral structure allow voters to choose from candidates who run city-wide.  Candidates gaining the highest percentage of votes for each seat win that seat. Voters cast a single vote for their candidate - the highest total vote-getter wins election.

Electoral system for county executives/mayors: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • The county executive/mayor is elected directly by voters, on a separate ballot from the deliberative body.
Quotas
  • Gender quotas: No
  • Additional quotas: No
Term of elections
  • Term length: varies by locality
  • Last local elections: varies by locality: 2021
  • Next local elections: varies by locality: 2022
Electoral management body

state election commission/board of elections

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Constitution of the United States of America, 1789 (amended through 1992);
  • Constitution of the State of Rhode Island, 1986 (amended through 2020);
  • Constitution of the State of Louisiana, 1974 (amended through 2020);
  • Constitution of the State of Florida, 1968 (amended through 2020);
  • Constitution of the State of Texas, 1876 (amended through 2019);
  • Constitution of the State of Oregon, 1859 (amended through 2020);
  • Constitution of the State of Ohio, 1851 (amended through 2017);
  • Portland Oregon City Charter, 1994 (amended through 2020);
  • Code of the District of Columbia, 1857 (amended through 2021);
  • Florida Statutes and Court Rules, 2015;
  • State of Rhode Island General Laws, 2015;
  • Texas Local Government Code, 2019;
  • Texas Election Code, 2015;
  • Washington County Charter, 1962 (amended through 2015);
  • City of Miami Gardens City Charter, 2006 (amended through 2016);
  • Warwick City Charter, 1996 (amended through 2020);
  • District of Columbia Home Rule Act, 1973 (amended through 2013);
  • Home Rule Charter of the Town of Portsmouth Rhode Island, 1972 (amended through 2016);
  • Miami – Dade County Home Rule Amendment and Charter, 1956 (amended through 2018).
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are no federal constitutional provisions that establish local government in the United States of America; only state constitutional provisions establish local government. According to Articles X and XVIII of the Constitution of the State of Ohio of 1851, “municipalities shall have authority to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and enforce within their limits such local police, sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws. Municipalities and townships shall have authority, with the consent of the county, to transfer to the county any of their powers or to revoke the transfer of any such power, under regulations provided by general law.”

Legislative provisions on local government

The state legislative body is responsible for establishing the legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation which regulate local government are the state constitutions, county/city charters, local government codes, and/or home rule charters.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2021.