The presidential election occurs every four years in the United States. The election is perhaps among the only events that rally virtually the entire American population into a heated competition for months on end, and the results carry great importance. When the country elects a new Chief Executive, who becomes the single most recognizable figure of leadership, an intricate process is required to ensure that everyone has their say and a proper leader is chosen. The election process of the United States spans months and is separated into multiple stages, which include the caucuses, primaries, and national conventions before proceeding to the general elections.
The first stage of the election process, excluding the campaigns and publicity that
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Just as each political party conducts separate primaries, they also conduct party-specific national conventions: the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention. During both national conventions, the elected delegates of their respective political party nominate a presidential candidate to run for the office on the party's behalf as well as establish the party’s platform for the election (which is a formal statement of goals the party makes to gain support from the general public). The Democrats also take the opportunity to unify their party, while the Republicans establish a set of rules to follow during the general election cycle. Recently, the significance of the national conventions has been undermined by the fact that the nominee is usually determined by the results of the caucuses and primaries, demoting the national convention to a ceremonial event that cements that which has already been established. Formerly, the purpose of the conventions was to select a candidate for the nomination, but because the candidate has consistently been determined prior to the event in recent history, the conventions have merely become ceremonial events that mark the end of the primary season and the beginning of the general election …show more content…
This occurrence leaves Trump as the only remaining Republican candidate, making the nomination arguably irrelevant. For the Democrats, a similar situation may loom in the near future, as Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton olds a total of 2,205 delegates in her favor. This number is only 178 away from the majority needed to guarantee the nomination and 804 ahead if her only remaining opponent, Bernie Sanders. Unless a rare occurrence akin to the 1924 presidential election occurs (during which William Gibbs McAdoo led the primaries by a wide margin but ultimately failed to secure the nomination), one can already conclude that Clinton will be nominated by the Democrats and lessening the importance of the Democratic National
According to usa.gov, presidential primary elections and caucuses are held in each U.S. state. The United States Constitution has never detailed a particular procedure, so political parties have developed their own procedures over time. States usually hold primaries and caucuses, depending on the state either or both will be used. These primaries generally begin in Late-January or Early-February, and ending sometime in June before the general election in November. State and local governments run the primary elections, while caucuses are private events that are directly run by the political parties themselves. A state's primary election or caucus is usually an indirect election: instead of voters directly selecting a particular person running for President, they determine the delegates each party's national convention will receive from their respective state. These delegates then in turn select their party's presidential
For the most part, the connection between the Presidential election process of 1788 and the present Presidential election procedure are both determined through the Electoral College process. The Electoral College process made sure people played a crucial role in the selection of the President of the United States. As was previously stated, I have expounded on the process of how the President is elected; the vital role that people played in the election, and the responsibility of the House of Representatives in response to the
If the candidate doesn't win the electors' votes, then they will not have a chance of winning.
Every four years, the citizens of America migrate to their respective polling locations and cast their vote. On this important day, the second Tuesday of November, the next President of the United States is elected. The election race for United States presidential candidates undergo a political marathon, negotiating primaries, party conventions and an electoral college system along the way. The electoral college is one of the main aspect of a presidential election. The Electoral College is made up of electors in each state, who represent the states popular vote. Each presidential party or candidate designates a group of electors in each state, equal to the States electoral votes, who are considered to be loyal to that candidate, to each State’s
The most influential structural element of the new primary system is the newfound practice of the political parties choosing a favored candidate before the primary season. The parties then throw all their support and financial backing behind this candidate and instantly make him/her a front-runner. While this element is standard among the two parties, the remaining structure of the primary system differs between the two main political parties. While both the Democratic and Republican parties hold open and closed primaries, the two parties hold many of their state primaries on separate dates. Additionally, the two parties have different rules that determine how each state’s delegates are allotted. The Democrats practice the proportional representation method of delegate allocation. The Republicans, on the other hand, pract...
Shugart, Matthew. "Elections: The American Process of Selecting a President: A Comparative Perspective." Presidential Studies, 34, 3 (September 2004): 632-656.
Today, political parties can be seen throughout everyday life, prevalent in various activities such as watching television, or seeing signs beside the road while driving. These everyday occurrences make the knowledge of political parties commonly known, especially as the two opposing political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. Republican and Democrats have existed for numerous years, predominantly due to pure tradition, and the comfort of the ideas each party presents. For years, the existence of two political parties has dominated the elections of the president, and lower offices such as mayor, or the House of Representatives. Fundamentally, this tradition continues from the very emergence of political parties during the election of 1796, principally between Federalist John Adams and Anti-federalist Thomas Jefferson. Prior to this election people unanimously conformed to the ideas of one man, George Washington, and therefore did not require the need for political parties.1 However, following his presidency the public was divided with opposing opinions, each arguing the best methods to regulate the country. Ultimately, the emergence of different opinions regarding the future of the United States involving the economy, foreign relations, ‘the masses,’ and the interpretation of the Constitution, led to the two political parties of the 1790s and the critical election of 1800.
The candidate who crosses the threshold of 270 electoral votes wins the presidency. In almost every state, a candidate who wins 50.1 percent of the popular vote is awarded 100 percent of its electoral votes. (Only Maine and Nebraska don’t follow the winner-take-all rule;” for each state has a certain number of votes in the electoral college,depinding on the size and population,witch ever person running for president reaches the amount of 270 electoral votes will win the presidency.also each person who reaches 50.1 percent of popular votes is awarded 100 percent of its votes .maine and Nebraska do not follow the winner-take-all rule. also “Every four years, Americans select a president on a Tuesday in November. The two candidates representing the Republican and Democratic parties on Election Day will have survived a long series of state-level contests. Each state holds either a primary (votes by ballot) or a caucus (votes by a show of hands or by clustering all the candidate’s supporters in one place in the room). These initial elections are held from February through June.;”every four years, Americans select a president on a specific Tuesday in November.also there are a Republican and a democratic parties on election day that will overcome a series of state-level contests.each state holds a primary or a caucus votes or ballots with
The Electoral College is a system where the President is directly elected. This process has been used in many past elections as well as the current 2016 election. This process also helps narrow down the large numbers that were made by the popular votes, into a smaller number that is easier to work with for electing the President. Some states use a system called “winner-takes-all”, which is another system that is connected with the Electoral College. This allows a candidate with the most electoral votes, to get the rest of the votes that the state provides.
Open primaries are defined as primary races where a registered voter, regardless of party affiliation, may vote in any party’s primary election (DMS Chapter 7). In other terms, an open primary means that a registered voter may vote in any partisan primary in a state no matter the party affiliation of the voter. Open primaries change the nature of elections in a state by increasing voter turnout within a state. Independents, who are voters not affiliated with any party, are allowed to vote for a candidate regardless to party (Clark lecture, Mar. 1). This is seen as a positive effect of open primaries as open voting allows for the break down of the rigid two-party system in the United States.
Every four years our nation votes for the next leader of our nation; however, it is not really the citizens of our nation but rather the Electoral College who chooses the President of the United States. The Electoral College, which is the group of people who formally elect the President and Vice-President of the United States, has been part of our nation since its inception. There are 538 electors in the Electoral College, which comes from the number of House representatives and the two Senators each state has. To win the presidency, a candidate needs 270 of those electors. It is an indirect election since the people are not directly voting for the president but rather the people of voting for their elector. The electors meet in the Capital
for the people and by the people. Candidates are allowed to discuss their policies for
There are many steps in running for president. Running for president is said to be one of the longest campaigns. Running for President consists of mainly two different parties and which consist of: the presidential primary campaign and the general electoral campaign that follow the party’s national convention. Generally both campaigns take place within the first 10 months of the election year. The primary campaign was mainly used for opening the nomination process to ordinary party members and to delay and postpone the influence of party bosses. During this time there is a process where the candidates go through a “beauty contest” where they are competing for popular votes; however the “popular” votes do not have
of a political campaign, to hit hardest at those who are in power or running
Our current election process takes place every four years in November. It begins with the primary elections and proceeds to nominating conventions. During the conventions is when our political parties select candidates and nominees announce vice presidential running mates. These candidates tour the country and collect support. The final step occurs when the country votes, or when the electoral college votes. In the United States, citizen votes don’t truly affect who wins, the decision depends on who wins the majority of the electoral college votes. After the decision is made the new president is then inaugurated on January 20th.