The 2018 midterm elections are on November 6 and will give voters the opportunity to weigh in on what’s going on in Washington. While this year’s elections have been in the spotlight, historically speaking, midterms have lower turnout than general elections, when the country votes for presidents. So what are midterms and why do they matter?

Midterm elections are held after the first two years of a president’s term and are the only voter-based check-in during a single term of a given presidency. This set of elections affects both chambers of Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Since the House of Representatives holds elections every two years, all 435 House seats are up for grabs this November. Additionally, 35 Senate seats (approximately one-third of the entire Senate) are on the table. That’s 470 total seats in Congress in play.

There are also state-level races that could have major implications. On Election Day, 36 states will hold elections for governor. A number of ballot initiatives will appear on state tickets as well.

Typically, midterm elections do not favor the party of the sitting president. Generally speaking, experts believe citizens vote in response to the president’s popularity at the time of the midterms and the state of the economy; as documented by The Cook Political Report, the sitting president’s party normally loses House seats and midterms results are often a reaction to the current political moment. Past midterm elections have had direct effects on civil rights, health care and reproductive rights, voter rights and redistricting, and LGBTQ rights, among many other social policy issues. This year’s elections could majorly impact the landscape of American democracy.

“The first midterm after a new president takes office is always a crucial indicator of voter reactions to his actions,” Theda Skocpol, a professor of government and sociology at Harvard, tells Teen Vogue. “This time is even more important because President Trump is threatening to take radical steps to compromise the rule of law and voting rights if his party retains control of Congress. Young voters often sit out midterms, but they should vote this time if they want a say in the country's future.”

What it all means is that midterms matter. They give voters the opportunity to check the current administration and can have lasting social consequences. And if that doesn’t convince you, here’s some examples of midterms that really mattered in U.S. history.

1874: Democrats take the Senate, leading to the end of Reconstruction

Following the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant was president and the country was deeply divided. Reconstruction was meant to rebuild the South and eliminate any remnants of slavery, but it was deeply unpopular with Southerners.

At the time, the Democratic and Republican parties looked and acted very differently than they do today. Southern Democrats were actually the more conservative party. According to [Professor Michael Klarman, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School, Democrats swept the 1874 midterms, essentially ending Reconstruction. The period following was sometimes referred to as “deconstruction,” which Klarman tells Teen Vogue “virtually ensured the demise of Reconstruction” and meant “no new civil rights legislation.”

1994: Republicans took both chambers of Congress for the first time since 1952.

Upset by the first two years of Bill Clinton’s presidency, Republicans took the House, Senate, and many governorships in the 1994 midterms. Republicans controlled Congress for the first time since 1952, dubbing ’94 the year of the “Republican Revolution.” Newt Gingrich, a Republican congressman from Georgia, became the Speaker of the House, and the GOP introduced its “Contract with America,” a 10-point legislative plan that included tax cuts and constitutional amendments.