30The question is often asked in Europe how it is possible to actually become US President, the man with the reputation of being the most powerful man in the world, without having the majority of the votes cast by the population.
The electoral system of the USA
This fact may be difficult to understand for people with our European understanding of democracy, but November 2016 proved once again that this can very clearly be a reality in the USA. But what exactly is behind it, how did the US electoral system come about and how does it work in general?
Primary election and electors – how does a US presidential election work?
Before a new president can move into the White House, there is a long and complicated path to take.
Because as a layperson or non-American, one usually has difficulties in understanding the Understanding the electoral system of the USA, it is logical to consider all the steps step by step:
In order to start the process of electing, the candidates must be determined from whom one can then choose. But how are the candidates selected? In order to be nominated as a candidate, one must meet the three criteria for running in the US election: The candidates must be native Americans, must be at least 35 years old when running for election, and must have lived continuously in the US for at least 14 years before running for election.
Once enough candidates have been found who meet these requirements, the most suitable candidates must be filtered out. This is done by prefix: Here, the possible candidates of the various parties (traditionally the Democrats and the Republicans) are nominated.
Free map of the USA with states
The primaries take place in the first half of the election year, during which delegates from the respective competing parties are elected for each state, who in turn determine the final presidential candidate for their party by majority vote.
From the primaries, some people will certainly have noticed the “Super Tuesday” a term - this usually takes place around March of the primary election period. On this day, most primaries are held, and therefore more delegate votes are collected than on any other primary election day. Usually, the candidate who stands out the most on Super Tuesday is also the one who is actually put forward as the candidate for the respective party.
The first step towards the actual Presidential election is that the people of the voting population are in a Sign up to be able to cast their vote when the election comes around. But that doesn't really explain it: The right to vote in the USA varies from state to state. not uniform .
04In some states, votes must be cast by mail, while in others there is the register mentioned above, and some want to ban mail-in voting. However, if a citizen has forgotten to register in time, he can still cast his vote. Whether or not the vote is deemed valid will only be known after the election. The whole thing is a little opaque, but this is the election process from the citizens' point of view.
The next step in the US electoral system is the actual presidential election. For a European, voting is essentially complete once the vote has been cast and the votes are counted on the same evening.
In the USA, however, the president is not elected directly by the people but indirectly by the electoral college, called Electoral College. electors of the Electoral College ultimately elect the new president. This happens by secret ballot, 41 days after the official election date. Each US state has a different number of electorswho can cast their vote completely independently of the will of the people. This number varies according to the population density of the respective state: The large and populous state of California has an impressive 55 electors, the influential state of New York has 29 and the smaller states of Wyoming and South Dakota have only 3.
The phases of the US election – when will the new US president be decided?
In short: The final result and thus the new US President will be decided as soon as one of the two candidates Majority of at least 270 electoral votes The Electoral College is the result of the vote of the US citizens and consists of a total of 538 electors from the states. The secret ballot of the electors is counted by Congress at the beginning of January as part of the US electoral system. The result is valid as soon as one of the candidates has achieved an absolute majority (of the electors' votes, not the votes of the people or citizens). This counting of the electoral votes is the binding result.
Once the President of the United States of America has been chosen, preparations for the Swearing-in At the swearing-in ceremony, the elected president is sworn in at the Capitol in Washington DC. oath of office and also gave a solemn inauguration speech.
The following wording is sworn in this oath: “I, (name of the new President), do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” After this oath to the Constitution, the President gives a speech in which he usually underlines his goals and motivation for the concerns of the people. After that, a parade takes place and a ceremonial act begins in honor of the new President.
Historical details – why is the US electoral system the way it is?
In the United States, some principles and procedures in the presidential election are based on historical events and decisions. The Constitution is the most important and significant building block for all representative decisions.
The 17 September 1787 The constitution came into force and has since laid down the basic order for politics and law. The articles of the constitution thus describe all relevant facts about the state organs: the legislature, the judiciary and ExekutiveThe President is the executive branch of government, and this is described in detail in Article 2 of the original Constitution. The requirements for running for office as head of state of the USA, the four-year term of office, the two-tier electoral system including the rules governing the actions of the electors of the states - all of these provisions have already been laid down in the Constitution.
Since 1845, elections have always been held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and since 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution has provided for the possibility of re-election.
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