On November 5th, the presidential election in the United States will take place. The result is awaited with excitement or dread all over the world. A tighter race is expected since Kamala Harris has replaced Joe Biden as the top presidential candidate.
We all know that voting in the U.S. is slightly different from how we vote in Austria, but how exactly does the U.S. voting system work?
In order to become President of the United States, you must meet three basic requirements:
– Natural-born citizen
– At least 35 years of age
– U.S. resident for 14 years
As we all know, there are two main parties in the United States: The Democrats and the Republicans. Usually, the Democrats are associated with the color blue, while the Republicans are portrayed in red.
First, the political parties decide who will be their presidential candidate. They do this through primaries and caucuses. In caucuses, the party holds a meeting to decide who to support. The members discuss and decide on the best candidate. In the primaries that follow, the people finally choose their presidential candidate.
The next step is the party convention. The winners of the primaries and caucuses are formally nominated. The chosen candidate also announces who will be his running mate (vice president). This is followed by several campaigns in which the candidates travel around the country. They try to gain as much support from the population as possible. Campaigning can be done in person or on television. You probably saw the debates between Trump and Harris and Vance and Walz.
Then comes the general election. This year on November 5th. Every U.S. citizen can vote for a president and a vice president. But the people don’t really vote for the candidates, they vote for electors. These electors represent the different political parties. There are a total of 538 electors in the country. Each state gets a certain number of electors. This number depends on the number of people who are eligible to vote in that state. For example, California has 54 electors, while Montana has only four. Each elector then votes for one presidential candidate. If the majority of a state votes for the Democrats, all of its electoral votes are automatically awarded to that party. To win and become President of the United States, a candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes.
The official inauguration of the new President and Vice President takes place in January.
