US Presidential Election Process

An election for President of the United States occurs every four years on Election Day, held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The 2016 Presidential election will be held on November 8, 2016. The election process begins with the primary elections and caucuses and moves to nominating conventions, during which political parties each select a nominee to unite behind. The nominee also announces a Vice Presidential running mate at this time. The candidates then campaign across the country to explain their views and plans to voters and participate in debates with candidates from other parties.

During the general election, Americans head to the polls to cast their vote for President. But the tally of those votes—the popular vote—does not determine the winner. Instead, Presidential elections use the Electoral College. To win the election, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes. In the event no candidate receives the majority, the House of Representatives chooses the President and the Senate chooses the Vice President.

The US Presidential election process runs for more than a year. The typical process follows this pattern. Spring of the year before an election – Candidates announce their intentions to run. Summer of the year before an election through spring of the election year – Primary and caucus debates take place. January to June of election year – States and parties hold primaries and caucuses. July to early September – Parties hold nominating conventions to choose their candidates. September and October – Candidates participate in Presidential debates. Early November election for the President happens. Electors cast their votes in the Electoral College in December.

US constitution provides some necessary requirements for the Presidential candidates. These requirements include:

• Be a natural-born citizen of the United States
• Be at least 35 years old
• Have been a resident of the United States for 14 years

Any person who meets these requirements can declare his or her candidacy for President at any time. In India qualifications are different. In India any citizen can be a candidate of Presidential election.

Primary and Caucuses

Before the general election, most candidates for President go through a series of state primaries and caucuses. Though primaries and caucuses are run differently, they both serve the same purpose—to allow the states to help choose the political parties’ nominees for the general election. State primaries are run by state and local governments. Voting occurs through secret ballot. Caucuses are private meetings run by political parties. In most, participants divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support, with undecided voters forming into a group of their own. Each group then gives speeches supporting its candidate and tries to persuade others to join its group. At the end of the caucus, party organizers count the voters in each candidate’s group and calculate how many delegates each candidate has won.

At stake in each primary or caucus is a certain number of delegates, or individuals who represent their states at national party conventions. The candidate who receives a majority of his or her party’s delegates wins the nomination. The parties have different numbers of total delegates due to the complex rules involved in awarding them.

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