- What is the Electoral College?
- What is a Primary?
- What is a National Party Convention?
- What is a Caucus?
The president and vice president of the United States are not elected by popular vote, but by the Electoral College – a system devised by the Founding Fathers and specified in the Constitution.
When people cast their votes, they’re actually voting for party slates of electors pledged to the candidates. Generally, the candidate who wins the most number of popular votes in a state wins the state’s entire slate of electoral votes. The candidate with the majority of electoral votes—at least 270 out of 538 possible—wins.
Each state is allotted as many electors as it has members in Congress. States with larger populations have more electoral votes. So it’s possible to win the popular vote but not the presidency. That actually happened in the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. The electors are chosen by a variety of methods according to each state—including primaries, party conventions and party organizations.
If no candidate wins a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives has to decide the winner of the presidential election.
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A primary is a preliminary election, where voters go to the polls to select a candidate for office. The winner of each party’s primary then face off. It’s kind of like the playoffs in football. Win and you advance to the next level.
Primaries were first used back in the mid-1800s. They were created in an effort to cut down on fraud by giving the power directly to voters instead of party bosses. By the early 20th century, primaries were used for statewide and presidential elections as well.
A primary can be nonpartisan, open, and closed. In a nonpartisan primary, candidates are not listed by party affiliation. This primary is often used in local and judicial elections. In an open primary, any registered voter regardless of party can vote for any candidates. In a closed primary, only registered party members may vote for the party’s slate of candidates. Only nine states have open primaries.
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A convention is an official gathering of political party representatives to choose their candidates for office. National party conventions are held the summer before elections in November.
At these conventions, delegates from each state cast votes for candidates. The delegates are chosen during state primaries and caucuses.
Each state, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the various U.S. Territories, is allowed a certain number of delegates, proportionate to the size of the state’s population.
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A caucus is a primary that is limited to registered party members only. Members vote for delegates to the county and state conventions at small party meetings across the state. Those delegates then select representatives to go to the national party convention. The delegates who go to the national convention cast the actual votes for the candidates they want to run for office.
Only 14 states hold presidential caucuses instead of primaries. Some states have recently moved to a caucus system from a primary system to save money, as fewer voters take part in caucuses.
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