The Presidential Election Process

Most people know that a presidential election occurs every four years. However, they may not know the entire presidential election process that occurs from party nomination to the actual election. There are four main steps in the presidential election process. Step 1 is primaries and caucuses. Step 2 is national conventions. Step 3 is the general election, and step 4 is the Electoral College.

Primaries and Caucuses

Primary elections and caucuses are the beginning of the election process and determine the candidates for the general election. In other words, they determine who will be running for president. In the beginning, parties themselves selected presidential candidates. However, during the Progressive Era in the early 1900s, state primaries were instituted which allowed regular citizens to pick presidential candidates. Now, states and local governments run primaries where citizens vote by secret ballot to select the candidates. Primaries can be open, closed, or a hybrid of the two. An open primary allows people to vote for candidates regardless of their political party. Closed primaries, however, only allow voters registered with a party to vote for that party. Semi-open and semi-closed primaries are variations of the two. Caucuses are private meetings run by political parties. Participants divide themselves into groups to endorse specific candidates. At a caucus, each group is attempting to persuade others to join their group. The number of voters in each group will determine how many delegates each candidate has won. Caucuses have steadily been declining with more states opting for primaries which have much higher levels of participation.

The timing of each state’s primaries and caucuses determines when candidates begin campaigning. Most candidates will campaign in states such as Iowa and New Hampshire since they are early-voting states. New Hampshire has the first primary, and Iowa has the first caucus. The first major event is the Super Tuesday--a day when the majority of states hold primaries or caucuses. The more votes a candidate gets in either a caucus or a primary, the more delegates they are awarded.

National Conventions

National Conventions are where parties finalize their nominations for president and vice president. Candidates have to have won a majority of delegates from the primaries and caucuses to become their party’s presidential nominee. The nomination is then confirmed by a vote. Convention delegates will choose the nominee if no one candidate gained a majority of the delegates during the primaries and caucuses. This type of convention is considered contested. The convention also consists of the presidential nominee announcing their running mate.

General Election and Electoral College

During the general election, Americans vote and submit ballots. The total of those votes is the popular vote but it does not determine the presidential winner. Instead, the U.S. uses the Electoral College where each state is assigned a certain number of electoral votes. Most states have a winner take all system where the candidate who wins a majority of the state takes all of the state’s electoral votes. Only Nebraska and Maine proportionally allocate electoral votes. A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. If no candidate wins at least 270 votes, then the election goes to Congress. The House of Representatives chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president.

Overall Timeline

January to June - States hold primaries and caucuses.

July to early September - Parties hold National Conventions

September and October - Presidential debates

First Tuesday in November - Election Day

December - Electors cast votes in Electoral College

Early January of next calendar year - Electoral votes counted

January 20 - Inauguration Day

References

ET Online. (2020). What are caucuses and primaries?. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/what-are-caucuses-and-primaries/articleshow/77961482.cms?from=mdr

Master, J., & Ratnam, G. (2020). The U.S. presidential nominating process. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-presidential-nominating-process

USA gov. (n.d.) Presidential election process. USA gov. https://www.usa.gov/election#item-212585