10 Surprising Facts About U.S. Politics You Probably Didn’t Know

1. The U.S. Constitution Doesn’t Mention Political Parties The founding document of American democracy never mentions political parties . In fact, many Founding Fathers , including George Washington , warned against them in his farewell address . 2. The U.S. Has Had a President Who Was Never Elected Gerald Ford became Vice President in 1973 after Spiro Agnew resigned, and then President in 1974 after Nixon resigned. He was never elected to either position by the public. 3. Congress Can Override a Presidential Veto — But Rarely Does While the Constitution allows Congress to override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers, this is very rare. Fewer than 10% of all vetoes in U.S. history have been overridden. 4. The Electoral College Has Overruled the Popular Vote 5 Times The most recent example was in 2016, when Donald Trump became president despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. 5. Only Two Independent Senators Currently Serve ...