Just about the complicated: how the president is elected in the USA - ForumDaily
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Just about the difficult: how the president is elected in the USA

The President of the United States of America has enormous international influence. In particular, how the world reacts to global crises - wars, pandemics and climate change. Writes about this with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

Therefore, when elections are held in the United States every four years, everyone is very interested in who will win them. But not everyone understands well how this happens.

When will the elections take place and who are the candidates?

Presidential elections in the United States are always held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which is November 3 this year.

Unlike many other countries, the US political system is dominated by only two parties, so the president always refers to one of them.

The Republicans are the conservative political party in the United States, and their candidate in this year's election is President Donald Trump, who hopes to win another four years in power.

The Democrats are a liberal political party in the United States, and their candidate is Joe Biden, an experienced politician, best known as vice president in the government of Barack Obama, but in general in politics since the 1970s.

Both men are in their 70s—Trump will be 74 at the start of his second term, while Biden, 78, could become the oldest president in US history to serve a first term.

How is the winner determined?

The winner is not always the one who received the most votes. For example, in 2016, Hillary Clinton received almost three million more votes than Donald Trump, but still lost.

Under the US Constitution, the president is not elected directly by citizens, but by a group of specially delegated individuals called the electoral college.

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Under this system, each state receives a number of votes in proportion to its population. The college consists of 538 electors from all states. To win, a presidential candidate needs the support of 270 of them.

Therefore, when citizens go to polling stations, they actually vote not for the president, but for the electors who support this or that candidate.

In all but two states, electors adhere to a winner-take-all system—that is, the winning candidate receives the support of all electors.

So, for example, the candidate who receives at least one more vote in New York will have all 29 “electoral votes” from that state, and his opponent will have zero.

Most states tend to lean towards one party or another. For example, California supports Democrats, so Republicans don't even try to challenge them. The situation is similar in Texas, just the opposite: Republicans have the majority here.

Obviously, under such a system, candidates fight for states that provide the largest number of “electoral votes.”

But the real battleground of the race is the so-called swing states — where both candidates have a chance to win a majority of the vote.

Who can vote and how does it happen?

US citizens over 18 years of age can vote.

However, many states have laws that require voters to show their identity documents before they can vote.

Such laws are often introduced by Republicans, who say they protect the vote from fraud. But Democrats call it voter oppression, as such laws often target poor minority voters who cannot provide identification, such as a driver's license.

The states also have different rules on the voting rights of prisoners. Most of them cannot vote, but they restore this right after serving their sentences.

A separate topic is the method of voting.

Most people vote at polling stations, but alternative voting methods have gained momentum in recent years. In 2016, 21% of those who voted did so by mail.

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How people will vote this year is a difficult question due to the pandemic. Some politicians have called for greater use of mail-in ballots, but President Trump has said — with little evidence — it could lead to more voter fraud.

Is only the president elected?

Not. All attention, of course, will be focused on the confrontation between Trump and Biden, but on November 3, Americans will also elect new members of Congress.

The Democrats already control the House of Representatives, so they are trying to maintain their position, while trying to gain control over the Senate.

If that happens, and Democrats win a majority in both houses of Congress, they can block or delay President Trump's plans if he wins.

The fight is for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 seats in the Senate.

When will the results be?

Counting can take several days, but it is usually clear who won by the morning of the day after the election.

In 2016, Donald Trump took to the stage in New York at about 3:00 a.m. to deliver his victory speech to a crowd of cheering supporters.

But officials are already warning that there may be a longer wait this year - days or even weeks - due to a likely increase in the number of mail-in ballots.

Procedural and legal actions can also significantly postpone this deadline, as was the case in Florida in 2000.

Then the Americans had to wait until mid-December before the name of the new president was announced to them.

When does the winner take office?

If Joe Biden wins the election, he will not immediately replace President Trump, as there is an established transition period to give the new leader time to appoint department heads and draw up a work plan.

By tradition, the solemn ceremony of the oath and inauguration of the President of the United States takes place on January 20. It is held publicly on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington DC.

Following the inauguration ceremony, the new president travels to the White House to begin his four-year term in office.

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