Every four years, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, the presidential election is held. This year it is November 5th. Voters from all across the United States can go to voting sites or vote by mail, to vote for the next president. They use ballots, which are filled out secretly inside voting booths; if by mail from their homes or dropped off at a ballot box. A lot happens before the election. The United States has two major political parties and a few minor parties. These political parties are groups of people who have joined together and share a core set of values that are very important to their party. These core values are called the party’s platform. Each party must choose who it wants to be president. The choice should be someone who represents that party’s platform. It should also be someone who represents the values of the American public in general. Choosing the best candidate can be very difficult, because it is not always easy to know where the candidates stand on the issues, or important topics. This means you have to watch the candidates carefully and choose the best one. The candidates also must choose a running mate who will be the vice-president. Before the election, the candidates give speeches and have debates. People listen to these speeches to understand what a candidate believes. Information is also available through television, newspapers, radio, podcasts, and the internet to help people choose. After the election, the votes are counted in each state. Now comes the difficult part. The results in a state determine which electors are selected for that state. All the electoral votes for that state go for the candidate that gets the most votes in that state. The electoral votes for all 50 states are added and the candidate with the majority of the votes wins! How many electoral votes does each state get? The number of electors from each state is based on the state’s representation in Congress. For example, the most populous state, California, has 54 electors. The least populous states—Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming—have three electors each. How many electoral votes are required to win? There is a total of 538 electoral votes. To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes—at least 270 votes. How do we arrive at 538 electoral votes? 100 senators plus 435 representatives in the House plus 3 electors for Washington, D.C. = 538 electoral votes. The elected president will serve for four years. In four years, there will be another election. The President often runs again, for re-election (this can only happen once with each president).
Rick