How To Win A Primary Election Or Caucus

Elections are held every year in the United States. They are part of what makes a Democracy what it is today. The most influential and important election of the United States Democracy is the presidential election. A presidential election is held on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November every four years (Boundless). There are many steps in running and winning a presidential election from starting a campaign, campaigning itself, to holding the primary elections, and then the general election. The biggest and most drawn out part of winning Presidency is the campaigning. A huge part of beginning a campaign is to create a staff. A campaign staff would consist of a campaign manager, volunteers, other hired staff, and even activist

They start out by campaigning for the primary election or caucus. Using a primary or caucus vary by states. A primary and a caucus have similar aspects, but they elect candidates for the general election differently. A primary and caucus both are elections held within parties to determine who will run for that individual party during the general election. During a primary election, each state has the option to hold as a closed, semi-closed, semi-open, or an open election (Boundless). Depending on the state, a primary election lets either just registered party voters vote in the primary or everyone. For example, during a closed primary election for the Republican or Democrati party, only registered republicans can vote in that primary election. On the other end, during an open primary election for the Republicans, any registered voter can vote regardless of party affiliation (Boundless). A primary election does practice the same polling practice as the general election does (Boundless). A caucus is strictly membered voting. Therefore, only registered members from that party is able to participate. Unlike primary elections, voting for a candidate is either shown by raising hands or a secret ballot depending on the state (Boundless). Candidates from the 2016 Republican primary election and caucus consisted of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio (2016 Election Center). Candidates from the 2016 Democrat

However, once campaigning is done, which is normally when the actual election takes place, a voter will already know who they will be voting for. On the day of the election, each registered voter has a choice whether to vote or not. In the 2016 Presidential Election and in the state of Virginia, there were a total of 5,529,742 registered voters, but only 3,984,631 actually voted (Registration/Turnout Statistics). This was an increase of voters from 2012. In 2012 and in the state of Virginia, 5,428,833 residents were registers, but only 3,858,043 actually voted (Registration/Turnout Statistics). This shows that not every registered voter votes during the Presidential Election. In turn, the voting process is primarily through the Electoral College. On voting day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, registered voters go to their designated voting place and vote. However, their votes are tallied up by state and the electors of each state will normally take the majority of that state's votes; however, they are not required to by the United States Constitution (Presidential Election Process). The candidates try to win the states with a bigger population. The bigger the population of a state means that they have more electors. Which means that the more electors that the candidate wins in the Electoral College system, then the higher their chances of becoming the President of the United