The Road to the White House

Timeline: Running for the Presidency

24 monthsbefore election

12 monthsbefore election

The Decision to RunGathering support andmoney; testing the waters;announcing candidacies

Primaries and CaucusesFebruary to June

• open primaries• closed primaries• caucuses

Winning DelegatesElimination of allcandidates except one

6 months before election

Party ConventionJuly to August

• formal selection ofparty nominees at the national conventions

• party platform adopted

• vice presidential nomination

General Stage ElectionAugust to November

• campaigning• media appearances• debates

November election

Step 1: Win the Party Step 1: Win the Party NominationNomination

Party CaucusesParty Caucuses

CaucusCaucus - closed meeting of party members in each state - closed meeting of party members in each state

Delegates select the party’s choice for presidential Delegates select the party’s choice for presidential candidatecandidate

Currently, six states hold party caucuses to select Currently, six states hold party caucuses to select presidential nominees.presidential nominees.

Michel Bachman campaigns in Iowa

Presidential PrimariesPresidential Primaries

Presidential Primary Elections Presidential Primary Elections - special elections in - special elections in which voters select candidates to be the party’s which voters select candidates to be the party’s nominee for president in the general election.nominee for president in the general election.

Primary Season: January-June of election yearPrimary Season: January-June of election year

State party organizations decide the rules for the State party organizations decide the rules for the primaries in a particular stateprimaries in a particular state

Closed Primary vs. Open Primary

Voters may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party

Examples: California, Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania

A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his or her own party affiliation

Crossover voters – voters who usually vote for one party, vote in the primary election of the other party

Examples: Michigan, Texas, Virginia, Washington

Methods of Selecting Presidential Delegates by State

2008 Open & Closed Primaries

Step 2: Win the General Step 2: Win the General ElectionElection

Elections between Elections between candidates of candidates of opposing parties opposing parties

““The battle for the The battle for the center” as center” as candidates candidates vie for vie for independent, more independent, more moderate voters moderate voters

Getting Elected

The system used to elect the President is

called the ELECTORAL COLLEGE Representatives from each state select the president

The winner is determined by the number of electoral

college votes, NOT the popular vote

# of Electors = senators + representatives

So, what about the popular vote?

On election day (the first Tuesday in November), the American people vote for the candidate of their choice – this is known as the POPULAR VOTE (the vote of the people)

The popular votes are countedIn most states, the candidate who wins the most

popular votes gets all the electoral votes in the state – for example, if most of the people in California vote for Candidate X, then Candidate X gets all 55 electoral votes

Commonly Asked Questions

Do electors actually cast their vote? It’s usually a formality, but in December, the electors

representing the candidate who won their state’s popular vote meet in their state capital and cast their votes

The results of the national election become official when the stats’ electoral ballots are counted before a joint session of Congress on January 6th

The winners are sworn in on Inauguration Day, which is always January 20th

Can one candidate win the popular vote and another win the electoral vote? Yes, and the electoral vote determines who will be

President It happened most recently in 2000, when Al Gore won

the popular vote but George W. Bush won the electoral vote and thus the White House

It’s happened only three other times: 1824, 1876, 1888

U.S. House 435U.S. Senate 100D.C. 3

Total 538

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. has 3 electoral votes; however, it has no Senators or members in the House of Representatives…

Why is this strange?

Since DC has no senators and no members in the House, it should not have any electoral votes. However, since people living in the District do pay taxes and share the same responsibilities as other US citizens, they must be given the right to participate and have a voice in presidential elections.

“NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!”

Step 3: Presidential InaugurationStep 3: Presidential Inauguration

January 20 – Presidential inaugurationJanuary 20 – Presidential inauguration