Every fourth November, after almost two years of campaign hype and money, over 90 million Americans vote for the presidential candidates. Then, in the middle of December, the president and vice president of the United States are really elected by the votes of only 538 citizens -- the "electors" of the Electoral College.
How the Electoral College Elects the President
When you vote for a presidential candidate you are really voting to instruct the electors from your state to cast their votes for the same candidate. For example, if you vote for the Republican candidate, you are really voting for an elector who will be "pledged" to vote for the Republican candidate. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all the pledged votes of the state's electors.
United States Electoral Process
An election is the process by which citizens select the thousands of men and women they want to run their government--at all levels. In a democracy, government officials are chosen by the people and serve for a specific time called a term of office. Depending on state laws, an official may run for reelection once the term is over. Our system of government is called a representative democracy. American citizens do not directly make governmental decisions. They elect officials to govern for them. Most elections in our country are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. But elections for public offices may be held at any time, depending on state law.
When the Constitution was written in 1787, it basically left the decision to each state as to who could vote in elections. Most states did not at first give the right to vote to women or African Americans.
In 1870, five years after the end of the Civil War, the 15th Amendment was passed. This amendment guaranteed the right to vote to male African Americans. However, it took another 100 years for African Americans to be able to fully exercise this right.
American women were not allowed to vote at the national level until 1920. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed that year, and the following November millions of American women voted in the presidential election for the first time.
The 26th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1971, says that anyone over 18 is allowed to vote.
In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. This law guaranteed that the federal government would intervene if any state attempted to deny a citizen's voting rights because of race. As a result of this act, millions of African Americans in the South were allowed to register to vote for the first time.
On the average, about 60% of voting-age Americans vote in presidential elections. For local elections, voter turn out is usually much lower.
No political parties officially existed when the U.S. Constitution was written in the late 1780s. The founders of the country actually felt that political parties were not a good thing and that they would divide people against each other and harm the democracy. However within 10 years after the Constitution was written, the U.S. had two major political parties--the Federalist party that was a proponent of a strong central government--and the Democratic-Republican party (also called the Anti-Federalist Party) that supported strong state governments. The Democratic-Republican party eventually became known as the Democratic party. The Whig party developed in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson and his policies. The Whig party eventually split apart, mainly over the issue of slavery. Proslavery Whigs rejoined the Democratic party and many antislavery Whigs formed a new party in 1854 called the Republican party. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president.
Today, the Democrats and Republicans remain the two leading parties in our country. However, there are other political parties such as the Independent Party, the Reform Party, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the Socialist Party, the Populist Party, and others.
When you vote for a mayor, senator, a member of the House of Representatives, a judge, etc. you are voting directly for that person. However, when you vote for president, you are really voting for an elector who has pledged to represent that candidate. The electors chosen by each state are called the electoral college. They are a group of people who officially elect the president and vice president. Each state has as many votes in the electoral college as it has senators and members of the House of Representatives. For example, Utah has 2 senators and 3 members of the House of Representatives--so it has 5 electoral votes. Large states like California have more than 50 electoral votes. States small in population like Alaska only have 3 electoral votes. To be elected, a presidential candidate must put together enough states in the election to get a majority (more than half of the total) of the electoral college. Even though the American public knows the winner of the presidential election on the actual day of the election in November, that winner is not really yet official. The electoral college meets officially in December. Its votes are sealed and sent to the U.S. Senate. When the Congress meets in January, the current vice president of the United States unseals the envelope and announces the results to the Senate. This is the official moment at which the president and vice president are really elected.
How the Electoral College Elects the President
When you vote for a presidential candidate you are really voting to instruct the electors from your state to cast their votes for the same candidate. For example, if you vote for the Republican candidate, you are really voting for an elector who will be "pledged" to vote for the Republican candidate. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all the pledged votes of the state's electors.
United States Electoral Process
An election is the process by which citizens select the thousands of men and women they want to run their government--at all levels. In a democracy, government officials are chosen by the people and serve for a specific time called a term of office. Depending on state laws, an official may run for reelection once the term is over. Our system of government is called a representative democracy. American citizens do not directly make governmental decisions. They elect officials to govern for them. Most elections in our country are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. But elections for public offices may be held at any time, depending on state law.
When the Constitution was written in 1787, it basically left the decision to each state as to who could vote in elections. Most states did not at first give the right to vote to women or African Americans.
In 1870, five years after the end of the Civil War, the 15th Amendment was passed. This amendment guaranteed the right to vote to male African Americans. However, it took another 100 years for African Americans to be able to fully exercise this right.
American women were not allowed to vote at the national level until 1920. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed that year, and the following November millions of American women voted in the presidential election for the first time.
The 26th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1971, says that anyone over 18 is allowed to vote.
In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. This law guaranteed that the federal government would intervene if any state attempted to deny a citizen's voting rights because of race. As a result of this act, millions of African Americans in the South were allowed to register to vote for the first time.
On the average, about 60% of voting-age Americans vote in presidential elections. For local elections, voter turn out is usually much lower.
No political parties officially existed when the U.S. Constitution was written in the late 1780s. The founders of the country actually felt that political parties were not a good thing and that they would divide people against each other and harm the democracy. However within 10 years after the Constitution was written, the U.S. had two major political parties--the Federalist party that was a proponent of a strong central government--and the Democratic-Republican party (also called the Anti-Federalist Party) that supported strong state governments. The Democratic-Republican party eventually became known as the Democratic party. The Whig party developed in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson and his policies. The Whig party eventually split apart, mainly over the issue of slavery. Proslavery Whigs rejoined the Democratic party and many antislavery Whigs formed a new party in 1854 called the Republican party. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president.
Today, the Democrats and Republicans remain the two leading parties in our country. However, there are other political parties such as the Independent Party, the Reform Party, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the Socialist Party, the Populist Party, and others.
When you vote for a mayor, senator, a member of the House of Representatives, a judge, etc. you are voting directly for that person. However, when you vote for president, you are really voting for an elector who has pledged to represent that candidate. The electors chosen by each state are called the electoral college. They are a group of people who officially elect the president and vice president. Each state has as many votes in the electoral college as it has senators and members of the House of Representatives. For example, Utah has 2 senators and 3 members of the House of Representatives--so it has 5 electoral votes. Large states like California have more than 50 electoral votes. States small in population like Alaska only have 3 electoral votes. To be elected, a presidential candidate must put together enough states in the election to get a majority (more than half of the total) of the electoral college. Even though the American public knows the winner of the presidential election on the actual day of the election in November, that winner is not really yet official. The electoral college meets officially in December. Its votes are sealed and sent to the U.S. Senate. When the Congress meets in January, the current vice president of the United States unseals the envelope and announces the results to the Senate. This is the official moment at which the president and vice president are really elected.
