The United States is made up of 50 federal states, in which around 244 million people are eligible to vote. During the vote to elect a president, a complex network of laws and procedures is put into place. The electoral race, however, begins a year earlier.
The US Constitution requires that every president meets certain requirements: be a citizen of the United States by birth, be at least 35 years old, and have lived in the country for at least 14 years. Additionally, once a candidate raises or spends more than $5,000 for their campaign, they must register with the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC), and authorize a committee to raise and spend your campaign funds.
The elections themselves begin in the spring prior to the call to the polls. On those dates, aspiring candidates register at the Federal Electoral Commission to run for president. During that summer before the elections, the debates for primary elections and caucuseswhich are held between January and June of the election year.
From July to September, political parties call assemblies to elect presidential candidates (in the 2024 elections, the most prominent are Kamala Harrisfor the Democratic Party, and donald trumpfor the Republican Party). These candidates face each other in various presidential debates between September and October.
The vote takes place in November, and it is a month later when the Electoral college presents his votes for president, which are counted by the Congress in January. the day January 20 the investiture takes place of the new president.
Primary elections and caucuses
Before the presidential candidates are even known, state and local governments organize two candidate selection processes. Both the primary elections and the caucus They occur between six and nine months before the elections. On this occasion, both were celebrated between January and June 2024.
In the primaries, voters select their preferred candidatebut they do anonymously and secret. The results are then reflected in the number of delegates assigned to the winners, which will vary depending on the delegates of each state and the internal rules of each party.
The caucus (translated as “assembly of parties”) are private assemblies organized by political parties. These meetings are established at the county or electoral district level, for the purpose of selecting the presidential candidate. During the caucusparty members are divided into groups, depending on the candidate they support (the undecided also form a group). Through speeches, groups try to recruit more followers. Finally, a number of delegates is awarded based on the votes each candidate receives.
The delegates must be active members of the party who support the chosen candidate. Additionally, the number of delegates is governed by state and party regulations. It is also possible that delegates are not tied to any of the candidates, and are known as “uncommitted” or “superdelegates“.
According to the rules of each state and party, both the primary elections and the caucus they can be open, closed or one combination of both.
National conventions
National conventions are instituted by the political parties themselves, and in them the official presidential candidate and his vice presidents are designated. Although the candidates already have the support of the results of the primaries and the caucusthe conventions serve to confirm the result.
In the conventions, they distinguish two profiles of delegates. On the one hand, the committedwho support the candidate assigned to them in the previous voting processes (primaries and caucus). On the other hand, the uncommittedwho opt for the candidate they prefer.
In the unusual event that none of the candidates obtains a majority, new rounds of voting will be held until there is sufficient unanimity. Starting with the second round of voting, the convention is now called “open” or “negotiated“. The conventions continue until one candidate obtains a majority of support among the delegates, in which case he becomes the official presidential candidate. His vice president is also announced.
For the 2024 elections, the Republican Convention It was held between July 15 and 18, ending with donald trump as a presidential candidate and J.D. Vance as vice president. The Democratic Convention took place between August 19 and 22, in which Kamala Harris became the candidate for president, with Tim Walz as a vice presidential candidate.
The College of Electors
The presidential elections always take place first tuesday in novemberalthough citizens can vote early at state or local election offices. According to the legislation of each state, there is a certain vote by mail period. This year, the vote will happen on November 5.
The particular thing about these elections is that greater popular support does not guarantee electoral victory, as happened in 2016, when donald trump won the presidency having had fewer votes than Hillary Clinton. And the last word is College of Electorsmade up of 538 representatives from all 50 states.
Of these 538, 435 correspond to the proportional representatives of the regions, with a minimum of three per state. This means that smaller states have a greater influence on the outcome than larger ones. So, California It has 54 delegates because it is the most populated region, while Wyomingthe least populated, only has three. Consequently, the representation system means that a vote in Wyoming has 3.7 times more weight than one in California.
Of the remaining 103, 100 of them are equivalent to two senators for each of the 50 states. And the last three are the voters of the district of Columbiain which the capital is located, Washington.
After the vote is cast, the electors of each state award the votes to the candidates. However, except for Maine and Nebraskawho distribute their votes proportionately, in most states they grant all electors to the winner of the popular vote. That is, a party with a greater number of votes at the national level could lose the elections if its voters are distributed throughout the country, instead of concentrated by states.
official result
A presidential candidate needs the support of at least 270 voters (more than half of the total) to win. The winner is projected on the night of the elections, once the votes have been counted. But it’s not until December that the Electoral College issues its final decision.
In the event that none of the candidates receives a sufficient majority, the election passes to Congress. The House of Representatives will choose the president from the three main candidates, based on the number of electoral votes. He Senatein turn, will appoint the vice president from among the two remaining candidates, again taking into account the electoral votes. This assumption only occurred in 1800 (where he was elected Thomas Jefferson as president) and in 1824 (where he elected John Quincy Adams).
Although the Constitution does not require it, in certain states it is forces voters to vote for the chosen candidate by popular vote in their state. Failure to do so could result in the voter being fined, replaced and even prosecuted.
He January 20 the official investiture of the new president of the United States, which this year is disputed between Harris and Trump.
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