How to Become President of the U.S.
By: Derek Krogmann
Requirements
- Natural born U.S. citizens
- Age 35 or older
- Live in the U.S. for 14 years or longer
Step 1: Primaries and Caucuses
- Candidates run against members of their own party (Republicans vs Republicans and Democrats vs Democrats) to qualify for the National Convention
- Caucuses- candidates have delegates who represent them and stand for their issues meet in person at an appointed time and local location to discuss issues, the voting happens for candidates happens either by raising hands or by separating into groups, votes are counted manually by counting the number of supporters of each candidate
- Primaries- Similar to a regular election those eligible ( who can vote are determined by the type of primary in your state) cast secret ballots. This is statewide not local
Step 2: National Convention
- Takes place every 4 years the summer before the Presidential Election
- Representing the states voters, each state party sends delegates to vote for the candidate preferred in their state
- Each party chooses its final candidates for President and Vice President
- Each party writes its "platform" (plan of action for the government in the next 4 years)
Step 3: General Election
- Election is between party nominees and any candidates without a political party affiliation
- Citizens vote for a candidate and the electoral college awards all of each states electors to the candidate who receives the most votes in each state
Step 4: Electoral College
- The candidate who receives the most votes in each state receives ALL of that states electors
- Amount of electors given to each state is equal to 1 for each member in the House of Representatives plus 2 for your senators
- The Electoral College consists of 538 electors
- A majority of 270 electors is required to elect the President