Election in the US

Question

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a foreign student, who try to understand the US politics and laws.

Now, I think that I understand the most of the politics here. But I am totally lost at the election part.

Firstly, how does election work in the US? How many times Americans vote? Who can they vote for? How many politicians are elected in each case? What this number depends on?

What is the electrolal collage?How does it work? What is the electoral ticket? Who are the electors? How do they vote? How many of them are there?

And the most pointless thing to me...

Why American presidential candidates are eager to win certain states?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Answer 1

Hi Monica!

I will my best to answer most of these questions, but it would be more than a page long if I go in-depth! But to give an overview. The presidential election is every 4 years, so the next one is actually this year. The congressional election is every two years. The state and local (city) elections are every year. Americans can vote once every election that they are eligible to vote for. For example if I am a citizen of the state of Georgia, I would not be able to vote in Florida. They can vote for anyone based on what the election is for, so every 4 years when the presidential election comes up they would be able to vote for the president, the congressmen, and state and city officials, but two years after that they would only be able to vote for the congressmen, state, and city officials.

There are two different chambers in the US Congress. The first would be the Senate which consists of 2 congressmen from each state, which means the whole body consists of 100 people. The second would be the House of Representatives. This is a little more complicated. Every census (taken every 10 years), the country splits each state into different districts consisting of a certain number of people (redistricting). Each district would have a representative to represent them in the House of Representatives. California currently has the most representatives (around 50) while other smaller states would have two because of the smaller population size. There are currently 435 representatives that serve in the HOR.

I hope that cleared up some of your confusion! I would love to talk to you about your questions more in detail maybe through call because I left out many details as there is only so much I can type!

Answer 2

Elections in the United States are very confusing. Each jurisdiction in the United States has its own timetable for holding elections and who may vote. Federal elections (where the President and Congress are elected) take place every two years in even numbered years (2008, 2010, 2012, 2016, etc.) States elections also take place in two year intervals, but may be held on even numbered years, like the federal elections, or "off" years, like is done in my state of Virginia.

Each citizen may only vote once in any one election. Each state takes steps to ensure that the voters are citizens who are eligible to vote and meet residency requirements. Some states (like Virginia) require those who plan to vote to register in advance of an election.

Although federal law calls for the direct election on Senators and Representatives, the President is elected by the "Electoral College". The electoral college consists of delegates from each state equal to the total number of Congressional members (2 senators + representatives). When a candidate wins a state, all of the electoral delegates cast their vote for the candidate, regardless of how narrow the margin. Those states with more delegates have more power than those who fewer delegates, so populous states are more desirable to the candidates.

If I can answer more questions, please do not hesitate to contact me for some online lessons. I think that we could learn a lot together.