American democracy has a rich history - as early as the 18th century, the United States became an independent state, and the population began to elect its own presidents. However, these old traditions have led to the fact that some atavisms have been preserved in the modern US electoral system - for example, the institution of electors.
Instructions
Step 1
In the United States, a political system has developed, which experts call a bipartisan - real political power in most cases is distributed between two parties - the Democratic and the Republican. The activities of other parties are not limited, but none of them turned out to be so influential in modern American history that one of its representatives became the president of the country.
Step 2
Presidential elections are held in the United States every 4 years. According to a law passed in the second half of the 20th century, the president can be elected for no more than two terms, that is, for 8 years. Candidates for the US presidential election can be nominated by parties or independently. When nominating from parties, a preliminary voting procedure is most often carried out - voters get the opportunity to vote for one of the candidates within a particular party. This system makes it possible to nominate the most popular politician from the party, who will be able to unite the votes of all the party's supporters. Primary elections are held by state. Also, during this procedure, a future candidate for vice presidency is selected.
Step 3
After the primary elections, candidates submit formal applications to participate in the elections. The main focus of the public and press is most often on candidates from the two main parties, but at the same time, politicians from other parties participate in the elections. For example, 6 candidates took part in the 2012 elections. Voting takes place on the same day in all states.
Step 4
Officially, US residents do not vote for a specific candidate, but elect the electors declared by him. The number of electors is determined depending on the size of the population and ranges from 50 to 3 electors per state. The United States has a majoritarian electoral system. This means that a candidate with a simple majority in a particular state receives the votes of all electors. Because of this, a situation may arise when a candidate wins, for whom fewer votes were cast by real voters than for a rival. The election results are announced the day after the state vote, but the president is officially elected after an electoral vote in support of him.
