Copyright 2015
Elections-
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The Electoral College-
  • The electoral college is used to elect a President and Vice President every 4 years in the U.S.A.
  • The number of electors that can vote for each state is determined by calculating 2, for the 2 Senators per state, plus the number of Representatives, which is based on a state's population.
  • If no candidate wins the majority or there is a tie, it goes to the House of Representatives for 1 vote representing the majority of their state. This almost happened in the 2000 Presidential election.
  • Read more about it and other controversial elections here:
     http://archive.fairvote.org/e_college/controversial.htm
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History of the 2 Party System:
Primary Caucuses vs Elections-
What is the difference between a primary, a caucus and a convention?
  • In a primary election, registered voters participate in selecting the candidate for the party's nomination by voting, as in a general election. After the votes are tallied, the number of votes a candidate receives determines the number of delegates they are awarded.
-Primaries can be either open (you can vote for a candidate outside of your party)
or
-closed (you must be a member of the party to vote for that party's candidate).
  • Caucus: In a caucus, party members get together in their district or precinct and pledge their support for their favorite presidential candidate, which results in awarding a certain number of delegates to that candidate. The delegates typically state publicly who they are going to vote for, so people can vote accordingly.
  • Convention: Once the primaries and caucuses are completed in each state, a national convention is held in which a party's nomination for president is formally announced to the public. During the convention, the elected delegates cast their vote for a party candidate and the candidate with the most delegates gets the party's nomination. The end of the convention marks the beginning of the general election process.
Levels of Organization in the U.S. Government:
  • "Terms" are the length of time they are elected and are given rules about running & serving in the same office again.
  • The President can serve 2 terms that each last 4 years.
  • The Vice-President can serve a 4 year term and can be re-elected to serve more terms an unlimited amount of times.
  • A Senator can serve a 6 year term and can be re-elected to serve more terms an unlimited amount of times.
  • A House Representative can serve a 2 year term and can be re-elected to serve more terms an unlimited amount of times.
  • A Supreme Court judge serves for life after being appointed by the President. There term is up upon resignation or death.
When a term is up, that position is open for any candidate that fills the requirements to run for election into that office.
Sample State Government Organization:
Term lengths at the state and local level vary by location.
Local Level of Government:
Executive Branch at local level includes: Mayor
Legislative Branch at local level includes: City Council
Judicial Branch at local level includes: City Judges and Courts