Political Caucus

In presidential elections, citizens do not actually vote for the candidate of their choosing, instead citizens are voting for electors known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College chooses a President, and Vice President. The Constitution gives each state a number of electors that equals the number of House of Representatives and Senate, which totals five hundred and thirty eight and also includes three electors for the District of Columbia. Each state receives a certain number of electors based on population size. The results in a state determine which electors are chosen. All electoral votes in a state go to the candidate that gets the most votes, and after state elections appointed officials certify the popular vote of each state. Two hundred and seventy votes are needed to elect a President; the candidate with the majority of the votes becomes the president.

All together, there are 538 Electoral votes. In December after the election, the electors cast their votes. When the votes are counted on January 6th, the Presidential candidate that gets more than half, 270, wins the election. The President-elect and Vice President-elect then take the oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January 20th.

Now this is how the Electors get selected. The first part of the process is controlled by the political parties in each state. Political parties often choose Electors for the slate to recognize their service and dedication to the political party. Slate is a magazine that cover politics and culture in the United States. The parties nominate them by a vote of the party central committee. This process happens in each state for each party. The second part of the process happens on the day of the election. When the state cast their votes for the Presidential candidate of their choice. The winning Presidential candidate slate of potential electors is chosen as the state 's electors except for Nebraska and Maine, which have proportional

The Electoral College is one of those things that differentiate the American electoral process from the rest of the world. It is an old institution that has been fundamental to the American political system ever since the Declaration of Independence. There have been calls to disband this way of voting to join the rest of the world with the ordinary populace voting. During the month of November in a presidential election year, every state holds an election in which all citizens who qualify may participate. They cast a ticket for president and his vice president. After this voting, the winning party is allowed to choose a slate of

They meet several weeks after the November elections in their respective state or the District of Columbia and cast their votes. They vote for the candidate with the most of the popular vote and that candidate usually wins. The Electoral College has simply sanctioned the popular vote. However, when the race is close as in 2000, the Electoral College may end up choosing the candidate who did not receive the popular vote. In the 2000 elections, Al Gore had over 500,000 more popular votes than George Bush, but lost the Electoral College 271 to 261 (pg. 186, Government by the People) In the past, some electors were supposed to have voted for the candidate with the popular vote and did not. These are some reasons so many seek and propose to reform the Electoral College.

The Electoral College is a compromise between elections of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. During Election Day Americans everywhere casts there ballot to voice their opinion as to who should become the next president of the United States or so we think. While most people think that the election for the next president takes place in early November the reality of the matter is that when citizens go to the polls they are not voting for a president directly, but instead citizens are voting electors appointed by the political parties who choose the president on the citizen’s behalf in early December. The number of votes that a state gets from the Electoral College is actually the number of electors the state is allowed to send to a collegian meeting to vote on who the president will be.

When it comes to presidential elections, presidents are voted within two methods: the Electoral College and the popular votes. The Electoral College, first found in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention (Yetter), is a body of officials that who formally elect presidents every four years. It was established to ensure the entire nation has an equal saying of choosing the president (Moody). The popular votes, however, are the many citizens that choose their votes. The winner of the election should be determined by the popular votes since there are a lot more people that have voted, but that is not the case.

The function of the college electors is for the most knowledgeable and informed individuals from each State to chose the president based solely on merit without regarding the state of orginal or political party. The way electors are chosen varies from state to state. Usually political parties nominate electors at their states conventions. Sometimes that process occurs by a vote of the parties central committee. These electors are usually state-elected officials, party leaders or people with a strong affiliation with the presidential candidates. Prior to Election Day each major political party has selected their slate of electors that will vote in December if their party wins that state. When it comes to electing the president there are a total of 538 men and women electors who meet on one day in December of a presidential election year. The next president will be the man or woman who receives at least 270 electoral votes (half of 538 plus one). Prior to the 12th amendment the President and the Vice President were both chosen on the same ballet. The one with the greater votes became the President and the one with the second highest votes become the Vice President.

Every four years, on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November, millions of U.S. citizens go to local voting booths to elect, among other officials, the next president and vice president of their country. Their votes will be recorded and counted, and winners will be declared. But the results of the popular vote are not guaranteed to stand because the Electoral College has not cast its vote.

There are many parts of the current design that have been the same since the first design. State legislatures choose electors and the number of electors for each state is equal to the numbers of its US Senators and the number of its US Representatives. Members of Congress and federal government employees are still not allowed to serve as electors. Each of the political parties will send a list of individuals who have pledged to run for President. These individuals are typically selected in State party conventions. After the caucuses and primaries, the political parties will nominate two candidates in their national conventions, one for President and one for Vice President. State citizens will then cast a vote for the electors who will represent the Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees. The electors with the most votes will become the state electors. After all state electors have been chosen, they will then cast their electoral votes for the President and Vice President. The candidates with absolute majority will take office. If there is no absolute majority, the US Senate will choose a President or Vice President from the top two

Under the current system there are five hundred and thirty eight electors. Each state gets one elector, each representative, and a senator. A presidential candidate needs two hundred and seventy votes to win the election. The electors meet after the November popular election to cast their votes and officially elect the president. Electors may vote for whomever they wish. Each state's electoral votes are awarded on a winner take all bases.

Who is really voting? The system of the Electoral College has been around for over two centuries. This system provides a means for the president and vice presidential elections by way of state electors. According to the United States Constitution Article II Section One , “Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of Electors , equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.” Candidates campaign amongst the various states to gain the popular votes of those states. If the candidate in fact does win the state by majority vote of the citizens, the state’s electoral representatives cast their votes towards that candidate. The abolition of the Electoral College and adaptation of direct election would give people direct votes, make all states important and help end controversy over direct vote and electoral vote.

In caucuses, party identifiers debate on who would be the best candidate to represent their party and the issues that they believe in. The media did not know the caucus state activities until Democratic governor Jimmy Carter campaigned in Iowa and won a lot of delegates. The consequence of a caucus is that the turnout is very small and it mainly consists of party activists. It also requires extensive organizing to identify and appeal to people who go to causes.

Each state appoints a number of electors that equals the number of senators and representatives of their state. The popular vote determines how the electoral college of each state will vote. The candidate with highest amount of votes from the electoral colleges wins the election. This process of electing a president based on the majority of electoral votes began when the Constitution was written in 1776. Our forefathers designed this system because they felt it was the fairest way to govern.

Nevertheless, the caucus is a system of voting for people who wish casting a ballot could be three hours longer and include being lectured to by rambling “leaders”. If you’re a Trump supporter, you will enjoy listening to his babbling speeches about his flawless immigration solution: building a wall. Instead of the traditional voting system, where ballots are scribbled on with dried-out pens, Iowans must attend local public meetings and participate in an hours-long process to choose their preferred candidate. The best part is, none of these votes really matter, but the media will make a huge deal out of the results! Whoever comes out on top of the polls will be praised, and whoever doesn’t will be said to have suffered a disappointing loss.