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We choose the President of the United States by voting during elections. Voters are United States citizens who are at least 18 years old. They must also be a resident of (live in) the town or city where they vote. If a citizen has been convicted of a serious crime he or she may lose the right to vote. Elections are an exciting time for our country! Elections are held every four years, on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. There are many steps in the process of electing a president. Let's look at some of the basic stages. First candidates are chosen by the major political parties. Candidates are those who want to become president. A political party is a group of people who belong to an organization in which its members share the same beliefs about governing our country. The two main political parties in the United States are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Other independent third parties such as the Libertarians also have candidates. Several candidates usually campaign to be chosen to represent their political party in the Democratic and Republican primaries. Primaries are elections that are held earlier in the year of the Presidential Election. Primary elections are between candidates in the same political party who want to be selected as the party's one representative. A candidate must win the primary election in order to get their party's nomination. During the summer before the election, national conventions are held to show the party's support for the candidate who was the winner of the primaries. Campaigning for president takes place during the summer and fall months before Election Day. During campaigning the candidates travel throughout the country giving speeches to try to convince voters that they are the best candidate for the job of president. Candidates also appear on television and radio commercials. They run advertisements in newspapers and magazines trying to give the voters reasons why they should be elected to be president. When Election Day arrives in November, voters go to polling places to vote. These polling places, or polls, may be schools, churches, town halls, community centers, or any public building where voting machines will be located. When the voters "cast their ballot" at the polls they are actually picking presidential electors, known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College are people who represent their state. Each state will then get as many votes as it has state senators and representatives in Congress. Every state has two senators. The number of representatives is determined by the population of the state. States with large populations such as New York, California, and Texas have many electors. States with small populations such as Delaware and Vermont have only a few electors. In all there are 538 electors. A majority of electoral votes (270 out of 538) is needed to become president. The electors meet to cast their vote in their state capitals on Monday following the second Wednesday in December. Only one candidate may win all of the electoral votes in a state. When the votes are officially counted the winner will be sworn in on Inauguration Day on January 20th. On Inauguration Day, the President of the United States takes his "Oath of Office" during a special ceremony. He solemnly swears to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and do his job to the best of his ability.
*He or she: We
have not yet had a woman president, so the president will be referred to
as "he," for the remainder of the lesson.
Let's
Practice!
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Oswego City School District |
The President of the
United States has many important jobs. He or she is responsible for
making and enforcing laws for our nation.* He also must help make decisions
about relationships with other countries. He is also required to approve all laws
passed by Congress. Our president speaks for the United States. 
President George W. Bush became our 43rd
President of the United States on November 7, 2000. Dick Cheney
was his running mate and became vice-president. They are members
of the Republican Party. Our next presidential election will be in
2004. We must wait until then to see who will be our next
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