How To...
Become President of the United States in 5 easy steps
First, there are some requirements you have to meet.
To become the President of the United States, there are a few things you have to fit in to. First and foremost, you have to be at least 35 years of age to be president, so you can be 34 years old to run if you will be 35 before inauguration day (January 20), but it is recommended that you would wait until your older so you appear old and wise. Of course, you also have to be natural-born citizen of the US (meaning you were born on US soil). You also had to have lived in the US for 14 consecutive years. This is so it is certain that you are more familiar with the US and it´s citizens than foreign citizens and countries. It was a big deal during the times of George Washington not having a ¨foreign¨ leader.
If you fit all the criteria above, congratulations. You can officially become our President. Now onto the important part-winning the presidency.
CHOOSE A PARTY
Although not technically necessary when running for president, choosing a party will increase your chance of winning, especially if you choose one of the two majority parties, Democratic or Republican. These two parties have the most support, which equals more money, which equals more campaigning. The parties will have a series of primaries or caucuses. A primary is when the members of a party in a state cast a ballot who they want to represent their party in the elections. A caucus, however, is more of a meeting or discussion where the state´s party members choose who they want to be their representative candidate through a series of speakers and votes. In a caucus, a candidate or a representative from their campaign team will speak to the people to get them to vote for them. As a possible candidate, you might want to be careful on what state caucus or primary you appear or campaign in, as that might affect how you carry on. You might want to try hard in states that are first (like Iowa or Nevada), or larger states (such as Texas or California), as these states either have the most people voting or can spread the word from their caucus on how people like that candidate, which often affects later results.
Step #1-WINNING THE PRIMARIES AND CAUCUSES
Caucus
Big discussions each party has to get their candidate for the presidency.
Primary
Simple ballots members of party use to choose their candidate for the election.
The Two Main Parties
The two main parties of the United States are the Democratic party and the Republican party. These are the two you want to focus on. Go for the one you have the most in common with belief-wise, so it seems more realistic when you play out your platform, thus getting more followers. Chances are you will have competition for the candidacy in your own party, but if you work hard this should not be a problem. When you eventually beat them at the national convention, they´ll all become your best friends anyway.
Step #2-NATIONAL CONVENTION
Delegates chosen from local caucuses and primaries go to the party´s National Convention, where the candidate is officially crowned. The winning candidate will choose a vice president to run alongside them. The National Convention is full of famous speakers, campaigning, and party supporters. It´s basically a giant pep rally for the party, and an event that you, if you have gotten this far and are now the candidate, you will have to take advantage of. You are getting big campaigning right here, SO USE IT. Because after this, that is when the supreme campaigning begins. Debates, conventions, commercials, advertisements, etc. These mass campaigns will stretch your name across the nation, and hopefully making you and your platforms right on their minds for the general election.
Event Information
Step #3-GENERAL ELECTION
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, citizens of the United States vote in the general election. The general election collects ballots for the candidates, however, you do not necessarily need to win the popular vote to win the election. You just need to win the right or right amount of popular votes in a state, for the election for president is really decided on the results of the electoral college.
When?
Tuesday, Nov 8, 2016, 01:00 AM
Where?
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Step #4-THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
You see, the general election is really voting for the elector. The Elector is the group of votes going into the electoral college. It votes for the one candidate that got the popular vote in each state. The amount of each votes the elector gives into the college depends on the number of representatives it has in congress. For example, the state I´m from, Iowa, has 6 electoral votes, for the two senators and four representatives our state has in congress. If just one more person votes for the republican candidate than democratic candidate, all 6 votes would go to the republican candidate. This makes it easier for to win, because it basically ignores all third party candidates, although you should still be wary of the more powerful ones, as they may take your votes, crippling your chance in the college.
If you have gotten this far, had the right platforms, focused on the right states, and managed to win in the electoral college, congratulations. You are now the president of the United States. You can thank me later. Right now, you have to get ready for inauguration day.
Step #5-INAUGURATION DAY
Inauguration day is the day you are sworn in as president. It´s on January 20 after you have been elected. Your presidency has officially begun. You have four years to do something right. Try not to be stupid with this time. You don´t want to be impeached, assassinated, or do something scandalous so you have to resign. And if you are really smart, you might even get to do all over again for a shot to rule our country for another 4 years.