The Procedure of Electing an American President Essay Example
The Procedure of Electing an American President Essay Example

The Procedure of Electing an American President Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (758 words)
  • Published: February 6, 2022
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Introduction

The procedure of voting for and or Electing, The President of the United States, is explained in the U.S constitution. The 12th, 22nd, and 23rd amendments have modified this procedure. The United States of America holds elections after every four years. Both the President and the Vice President must have attained the age of thirty-five year. They must be residents of U.S for at least four years, and they must be native-born of the United States. A President can only serve for two terms after which she or he retires.

Conventions; before general elections, the political parties holds delegates meetings. Some delegates are selected by State caucuses which involve public voting instead of secret ballots while some are selected through State primary elections and some are chosen by their political parties (Polsby & Nelson, 125). Cu

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rrently, the caucuses are held in ten out of the fifty United States. In the other 40 states, primaries, a statewide process in which voters cast secret ballots, are used (Whitby & Kenny, 106). It requires a majority of the delegates to vote for a Presidential candidate to win the party's nominations. In general elections, the presidential candidate runs together with a candidate for Vice-President on a ticket (Schaffner & Brian, 128). During the election period; the voters select one ticket to vote for both the President and the Vice-President.

The fifty States holds different national Presidential elections and the District of Columbia too. In these 51 elections, the voter’s votes for the candidate are pledged to one of the tickets (Hudson, et all, 36). The voters make up the "Electoral College." On the ballot, the names of the voters are no

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included; instead the ballot lets voters choose among "candidates for" each of the tickets. Usually, each state has two Senators; however, the number of representatives depends on the total number of people in the State as per data collected in the most recent census. District of Columbia residents also participates in Presidential elections though it is not a State. (Hudson, et all, 36).

The People in each State vote for their preferred candidate in the Electoral College. In the District of Columbia and many other States, the candidates are chosen depending on the number of votes each ticket gets; whichever ticket receives the most votes in that state (or in D.C ) get all the candidates (Hudson et al, 36). There is some difference in Maine and Nebraska; in these two states, just two of the candidates are chosen from the entire state. The winner in each congressional district then determines the remaining candidates with each district voting for a single candidate.

Finally, the Electoral College then votes for President and Vice-President, with each voter casting only one vote. Each voter votes for his or her preferred candidate for President and Vice-President. Normally, the Presidential candidate who receives more fifty percent of the electoral votes becomes the elected President. The vice-presidential running mate then automatically becomes the Vice President since he or she will have received a majority of votes (Keithly & David, 171)

If there is no Electoral College winner or no Presidential candidate attains more than half fifty percent of the total votes, the House of Representatives take the mandate to choose the President. In this case, the top three presidential candidates who got the highest

number of votes in the Electoral College are considered. As such, each state's delegation in Congress casts one vote (Wilson & Steven, 52). The Vice President is then selected from the top two Presidential candidates who got a large number of votes.

Conclusion

The above procedures ensure that the United States citizens elect their President democratically. The procedure might seem to be long and tedious, but it is vital if the best President is to be elected among all the Presidential aspirants. The rights to vote in all States ensure that the candidate who wins the presidential position is a true representative of the people in all States.

Work Cited

  1. Hudson, David L, and Roger Matuz. The Handy Presidents Answer Book. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press, 2012. Print.
  2. Keithly, David M. The USA & the World 2013. Lanham, MD: Stryker-Post Publications, 2013.
  3. Polsby, Nelson W. Presidential Elections: Strategies and Structures of American Politics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012. Print.
  4. Schaffner, Brian F. Politics, Parties, and Elections in America. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
  5. Whitby, Kenny J. Strategic Decision-Making in Presidential Nominations: When and Why Party Elites Decide to Support, a Candidate. , 2014.
  6. Wilson, Steven H. The U.s. Justice System: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.
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