The Election Process of the US President

An election is a process by which citizens select the thousands of men and women they want to run their government at all levels. In a democracy, government officials are chosen by the people and serve for a specific time called a term of office. Depending on state laws, an official may run for reelection once the term is over. Our system of government is called a representative democracy. American citizens do not directly make governmental decisions. They elect officials to govern them. Most elections in our country are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. But elections for public offices may be held at any time, depending on state law.

When the Constitution was written in 1787, it left the decision to each state as to who could vote in elections. Most states did not at first give the right to vote to women or African Americans.

In 1870, five years after the end of the Civil War, the 15th Amendment was passed. This amendment guaranteed the right to vote to male African Americans. However, it took another 100 years for African Americans to be able to fully exercise this right.

American women were not allowed to vote at the national level until 1920. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed that year, and the following November millions of American women voted in the presidential election for the first time. 

The 26th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1971, says that anyone over 18 is allowed to vote.

In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. This law guaranteed that the federal government would intervene if any state attempted to deny a citizen’s voting rights because of race. As a result of this act, millions of African Americans in the South were allowed to register to vote for the first time.

Today, the Democrats and Republicans remain the two leading parties in our country. However, there are other political parties such as the Independent Party, the Reform Party, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the Socialist Party, the Populist Party, and others.

US Presidential Election:

The US Presidential Election takes place every four years on the first Tuesday in November. Candidate must be at least 35 years old, born in the United States, and lived in the US for the previous 14 years to be eligible. Traditionally, candidates make their intention to run for President public in the year before the election takes place. Since there is no national authority that conducts the elections, local authorities organize the election with the help of thousands of administrators. 

The Election Process for US President:

The US President and Vice President are not elected directly by the people. Instead, they are chosen by “electors” through a process called the “Electoral College”.

The election process for US president can be consolidated into five steps:

1. Primaries and caucuses
2. National conventions
3. Election campaigning.
4. General Election
5. Electoral college.

• Primaries and caucuses: The election process starts with the primaries and caucuses in January or February of the election year. Primaries are organized by state and local authorities using a secret ballot to cast votes for hopeful presidential candidates from each of the major parties. Caucuses are private events organized by political parties themselves. Here, voters decide publicly which candidate they prefer. Afterward, organizers count the votes and calculate how many delegates each candidate receives.
• National conventions: once the primaries and caucuses are completed in each state, a national convention is held in which a party’s nomination for president is formally announced to the public. During the convention, the elected delegates cast their vote for a party candidate and the candidate with the most delegates gets the party’s nomination. The end of the convention marks the beginning of the general election process.

Each party holds a national convention to finalize the selection of one presidential nominee. At each convention, the presidential candidate chooses a running-mate (vice-presidential candidate).

• Election campaigning: General election campaigning begins after a single nominee is chosen from each political party, via primaries, caucuses, and national conventions. These candidates travel the country, explaining their views and plans to the general population and trying to win the support of potential voters. Rallies, debates, and advertising are a big part of general election campaigning.
• General Election: Usually in November. Many modern voters might be surprised to learn that when they step into a ballot box to select their candidate for president, they are casting a vote for fellow Americans called electors. People in every state across the country vote for one president and one vice president. When people cast their vote, they are voting for a group of people known as electors. Even though the majority of people in the USA vote for a candidate, that does not mean that he/she will win the Presidential election. There are instances where a candidate who won the popular vote lost the election. To win the election, a candidate needs to secure more than 270 electoral votes.

• Electoral College: on election day, voters go to the polling place and cast for their preferred candidate. The voters elect their president and vice president indirectly. Both are chosen by electors through the electoral college process. States are allocated based on the number of seats they have in the House of Representatives and senate. Washington D.C gets three electors but other US territories don’t get any. In total there are 538 electors. After ballots have been cast, all votes go to a statewide tally. Washington D.C. and 48 states use the winner-takes-all procedure where the election winner receives all the electors in that state. Maine and Nebraska are the exceptions because they have a proportional system. A candidate has to “win” at least 270 electors to become President. Voting at the Electoral College takes place in the weeks after Election Day the winner is usually always announced on the night of the election. 

Who can become the President of the United States of America:

The U.S. constitutions requirements for a presidential candidate are:

• A natural-born citizen of the United States
• A resident of the United States for 14 years
• At least 35 years old
• A natural-born citizen is someone born with U.S. citizenship. This includes any child born in the United States, the children of United States citizens born abroad, and those born abroad of one citizen parent

Inauguration Day:

Inauguration Day takes place on January 20 at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. First, the Vice President is sworn in, followed by the President. Both officially become President and Vice President after reciting the oath of office which has been used since the late 18th century. 

The Nomination Process:

The process of choosing candidates starts with the state primaries and caucuses. Each state holds one or the other, though primaries are much more common. The primaries and caucuses select delegates to represent the state at the national conventions held by the Democratic and Republican parties. In a primary, voters go to a polling place to cast a secret ballot. In a caucus, people gather at a polling place to hear speeches and take part in debates before casting their vote publicly. The significance of the primaries and caucuses is reflected in the time and money that candidates typically spend campaigning for the earliest contests, particularly the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. A poor performance in either of those states can drive a candidate from the race. A good performance can boost a campaign.

To secure a party’s nomination, a candidate must win the votes of a majority of the delegates who will attend the party’s convention. More than 4,000 delegates attend the Democratic convention; the Republican convention usually includes about 2,500 delegates. In most Republican primaries the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote is awarded all the state’s delegates. By contrast, the Democratic Party divides the delegates proportionally among all candidates who win at least 15 percent of the vote. The nominees of both major parties are usually determined by March or April.

Conclusion:

US president and vice president are not directly elected by voters. It is the electors from each state who elect the US president and Vice president. The Electoral college consists of 538 electoral votes from 50 states and the District of Columbia. The election results are largely influenced by voter behaviour in large swing states. To win the election the candidate needs to secure 270 votes. One should bear in mind that teams of presidential candidates choose particular methods for planning and analysing election campaigns not necessarily based on formal considerations. Moreover, even the ways these methods are used are also determined by these teams.