How does voting for a president work?

Answer 1

Start with the Constitution. The basic process of selecting the President of the United States is spelled out in the U.S. Constitution, and it has been modified by the 12th, 22nd, and 23rd amendments. Many additional steps have been added over the years, by custom and by state law -- the process has changed quite a bit over time.

Who Can Run? The President and Vice-President are elected every four years. They must be at least 35 years of age, they must be native-born citizens of the United States, and they must have been residents of the U.S. for at least 14 years. (Also, a person cannot be elected to a third term as President.)

How Do the Political Parties Choose Their Candidates?That's up to the political parties. Most political parties hold conventions, which are large meetings attended by "delegates." Some delegates are selected by state "primary" elections, some are selected by state caucuses (very much like primaries, except with public voting instead of secret ballots), and some are chosen for their prominence in the party. A majority of delegate votes is needed to win the party's nomination. In most cases, the delegates let their chosen presidential candidate select a vice-presidential candidate.
Candidates for President and Vice-President Run Together. In the general election, each candidate for President runs together with a candidate for Vice-President on a "ticket." Voters select one ticket to vote for; they can't choose a presidential candidate from one ticket and a vice-presidential candidate from another ticket.

The Electoral College. The national presidential election actually consists of a separate election in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia; in these 51 elections, the voters are really voting for "electors" pledged to one of the tickets. These electors make up the "Electoral College." (In most cases, the names of the electors aren't written on the ballot; instead the ballot lets voters choose among "Electors for" each of the tickets, naming the presidential and vice-presidential candidates each slate of electors is pledged to.) Each state has the same number of electors as it has senators and representatives (there are two senators from each state, but the number of representatives depends on the state population in the most recent census). The District of Columbia, although it isn't a state, also participates in presidential elections -- it currently has three electors.

The People in Each State Vote for Electors in the Electoral College. In most of the states, and also in the District of Columbia, the election is winner-take-all; whichever ticket receives the most votes in that state (or in D.C.) gets all the electors. (The only exceptions are Maine and Nebraska. In these states, just two of the electors are chosen in a winner-take-all fashion from the entire state. The remaining electors are determined by the winner in each congressional district, with each district voting for one elector.)

The Electoral College Votes for the President. The Electoral College then votes for President and for Vice-President, with each elector casting one vote; these votes are called electoral votes. Each elector is pledged to vote for particular candidates for President and Vice-President. In most elections, all the electors vote in accordance with the pledge they made; it is not clear what would happen in the unlikely event that a large number of electors violated their pledge and voted differently. Normally, one of the candidates for President receives a majority (more than half) of the electoral votes; that person is elected President. That candidate's vice-presidential running mate will then also receive a majority of electoral votes (for Vice-President), and that person is elected Vice-President.
If There's No Electoral College Winner, the House of Representatives Chooses the President. In the rare event that no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, then the President is chosen instead by the House of Representatives, from the top three presidential vote-getters in the Electoral College; each state delegation in Congress casts one vote. (The Vice-President would be chosen from the top two vice-presidential vote-getters by the Senate.)

This is bizarre! Does it really work this way? Yes. There are many arguments pro and con the Electoral College, but this system does guarantee that the person elected President has substantial support distributed throughout the U.S. The Electoral College has also been a major factor in the United States' long-term political stability.

Answer 2

An election normally entails choosing of suitable candidates and letting them campaign for the job. After campaigns, those who are eligible to vote choose the candidate they deem most qualified for the job. The candidate with majority of the votes is declared the winner.

Answer 3

Presidents are elected by the electoral college. Each state has a certain number of electors as specified by Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the constitution. People in each state vote for who they think should be the President, and the electors then pledge cast their vote for the candidate that received the most votes. In most states, the winner of the popular vote gets all of that states electoral votes, although some states can split their electoral votes between candidates.

Answer 4

I will answer this based on my understanding of the question.

As is obvious, each party has a candidate standing in the presidential elections. These candidates campaign in every state. The state races use a first past the post voting system which basically means those with the highest votes wins. Each state has a designated number of electoral college votes which the candidate acquires after winning that state. In order to win the state, the candidate needs to gain the majority of the popular vote. Please look below:


Electoral college votes are given to states based on their population.


California is the most heavily populated state in the US and hence has the highest number of electoral college votes, that number being 55. Alaska on the other hand has 3.


So, when a candidate wins a state race, they take all of the electoral college votes for that state. When all of the state races are over, the total electoral college votes for each candidate are added up and the person with the highest number becomes the president.

Answer 5

The voters in each state cast ballots for President and Vice President. Each state has a number of electoral votes, based on the population of the state. The candidate with a majority of electoral votes becomes President, and is the head of the Executive branch. The Executive branch is responsible for carrying out laws passed by the Legislative branch. The President reviews laws, and either approves them to become laws, or vetoes them. However, the Legislators can override a veto if enough of them think it should be a law. The President proposes a budget, but it is up to the Legislators to approve the budget.

Answer 6

If the candidate wins the most votes he becomes the president of the United States.

Answer 7

In The United States of America, the presidential election is won by the candidate that reaches 270 electoral votes. There are 548 votes in an electoral vote.

Answer 8

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