POTUS ELECTION PROCESS

P.O.T.U.S 
Election Process

 

The blog is an attempt to present  Election Process of - President  of  the USA (POTUS) - in  brief and a simple manner. 

To begin with, it is to be understood that for a person to serve as president, he must be

                  (i) a 'natural-born' citizen of United States,  
                  (ii) minimum 35 years of age and                
                 (iii) has been resident in the USA for at least 14 years.
 
The president holds office for 4 years and cannot be elected to the office more than twice.

 2. An election for president happens every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Accordingly, present presidential election was held on 3rd November, 2020. Both President and Vice- President are not elected directly by the people. In fact, they are chosen by 'electors' through a process known as Electoral College.

 3. Before, we proceed further; it would be pertinent to discuss structure  of United State Congress. We are aware that it is a bicameral legislature consisting of two chambers:                           

                             (i) the House of Representatives (H.O.R) and
                                 (ii) the Senate. 

 4. Senators represent their entire states but  the members of the House represent  individual congress districts. The number of congress districts in each state is determined by a state's population. At present, the Senate consists of 100 senators (i.e. two senators from each of 50 states). However, every state, small or large, has an equal voice while representation in the House of Representatives (HOR) is based on the size of each state's population. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election. Senators are elected for six years. The members of the HOR are elected for the two-year term of a Congress representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. The number of voting members of the HOR is 435. 

5. While U.S. presidential elections are held every four years, the process is long, complicated and consists of multiple stages.  Let us now discuss and learn the election process cycle step by step:

 Step 1   Announcement of Intention : 

(Period: Spring of the year before an election year)r)

Candidates during the period announce/express their intention to run for President. For the completion of the process, it takes about three months.

Step 2 Presidential Primaries and Caucuses: 
(Period: Summer of year before an election till summer of election year):  

Primaries: These are elections, at local level, in which voters/party members elect  their delegates via secret ballot for the proposed  Presidential National Convention. 

Caucuses: These are informal open gatherings or meetings of voters/party members to select their delegates for the Presidential National Convention. 
  

The delegates so elected/selected are known as nominees of the parties to participate in  Presidential Nomination Conventions.

 

Step 3 Presidential Nomination Conventions:
(Period :  July to September  of the Election Year)

Presidential Nomination Conventions are large gatherings of all the delegates chosen by the states during the Primaries and Caucuses. These conventions are held party wise. At this convention, the parties choose/select their    nominees for the President. In simple terms the candidate is given a ticket by the party concerned to contest Presidential election. On being nominated to contest the President election, the nominee delivers an acceptance speech. He also announces his Running Mate-- a candidate for Vice President.
 
Step 4 Election Campaigning : 
(Period: September to October/ November of the Election Year) 

It is an intensive election campaign period. The candidates campaign across length and breadth of the country, explaining their views, plans and roadmap to voters.  As in India, rallies, debates, Town Hall meetings and advertising are part and parcel of the election campaign.  During the period, the candidates also participate in customary three televised presidential debates. Though these debates are not constitutionally mandated, they are now being considered an intrinsic/integral part of the election process. These debates are targeted mainly at undecided and fence sitter voters. It has more relevance particularly for Swing States.

  Step 5 Election Day:   
(Period: Early November) 

  

 On the Election Day, people in every state across the country cast their vote for one President and one Vice President.  In fact, while   casting their voters for President/ Vice-President, they are actually voting for a group of people known as electors.  Such ballots are termed as "Popular Votes" for President/Vice-President. This apart, simultaneously, people exercise their right  to elect 435 members of the HOR and one third members (No. 33/34, as the case may be) of  the Senate.  

It is interesting and extremely important to bear in mind that the majority of  "Popular Votes" received in favour of a candidate is not suffice to declare him the winning candidate. In fact, the "Electoral College", not the national "Popular Votes", that determines who wins the presidency.  

Step 6: Voting by Electoral College:
(Period: December-First Monday that falls after 2nd Wednesday of General Election)

On the day, the members of Electoral College (electors voted on Election Day) cast their vote in favour of their candidate to elect the President. The voting is carried out in the State Capitals. Electoral College consists of  are 538 electors detailed as under:     

                    
           1. No. of electors representing   HOR                                         435
            2. No. of electors  representing Senate                               100
            3. No. of electors  representing  D.C.                                      3
                Total  electors  of Electoral College                             538
 

 Step7 Counting of Ballots:
 (Period: 6th January subsequent to election year)

Counting of Ballots is carried out on 6th January subsequent to the election year by the Congress in the building of HOR.  In counting  the concept of ”Winner-take-all” plays a crucial and significant role in the process.  It implies that   if a candidate gets the most votes within a state they receive that state’s full quota of electoral college votes. To understand the concept let us take the example of California state. It has 55 votes in the Electoral College. Now, further assume that there two contestants ( one each from Republican Party and Democratic Party) . Assume that  32 ballots are voted in favour of Republican candidate and 23 ballots are voted for Democratic candidate. As per ”Winner-take-all” the entire 55 electoral college votes would be treated as voted in favour of Republican candidate. In the process whosoever gets 270 or more votes,  would be officially declared President elect.

  Step 8 Inauguration Day:
(Period 20th January subsequent to the election year) 

    On Inauguration Day, the President-elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President of the United States at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) is responsible for the planning and execution of the Inaugural Ceremonies.

 T   This is, in brief, how the process of election of President of USA is completed. Further, for the sake of simplicity and clarity, a  graphic representation explaining the process of election is also reproduced hereunder:

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