The United States presidential election is a major event that happens every four years. It determines who will serve as the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States.
The process starts with a series of primaries and caucuses, where voters use a secret ballot to vote for the hopeful presidential candidates from each party. These votes help decide which candidates will go to the national conventions. At these national conventions, delegates who are pledged to vote for a particular candidate will choose that person as the party’s presidential nominee. It is rare for a third-party candidate to win a large number of delegates.
On Election Day in mid-December, each state’s electoral votes are counted. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. If a candidate does not reach 270, the House of Representatives and the Senate by law determine who shall act as president.
Critics of the Electoral College argue that it is outdated and undemocratic. The winner-takes-all system, where a single state’s electoral votes are awarded in blocks to either the Democratic or Republican candidate (except Maine and Nebraska), encourages candidates to spend exponentially more time and money campaigning in a few “swing” states. This was the case in 2000, when George W. Bush won the presidency with a narrow margin in Florida, which triggered a recount and a Supreme Court decision (Bush v. Gore).
Electors are supposed to vote for the candidate that received the most popular votes in their state. However, there have been instances of faithless electors who cast their votes for a different candidate than the one they were pledged to support.
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