United States Election Glossary pt 3

United States Election Glossary pt 3

Part of knowing how to participate in a United States election is to have a thorough understanding of the language and lingo. This is part three of the United States election glossary, including the more prevalent terms that you need to know.

Congress – This is a shortened way to refer to the United States Congress, which is responsible for making the laws for the country. The United States Congress is divided into two different sections, the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 2 senators from each state, making 100 total, and there are currently 435 representatives. Representatives in the House of Representatives are assigned based on population of the states, and each state has a minimum of one representative.

Congressional District – This is an area in a state from which a House of Representatives member is elected. There are currently 435 different congressional districts in the United States, and each one of these districts has approximately 570,000 people in it. The positions in the House of Representatives generally are reapportioned each ten years. Some areas will lose representatives and other areas will gain some depending on their populations during that year.

Conservative – These are people that would like to uphold the current conditions and that tend to oppose any big changes. Conservatives are typically referred to as being “right wing.”

Convention – This is an official meeting where the delegates belonging to a specific party gather to choose candidates and determine what the party platform will be.

Debate – This is a public, formal political discussion that involves at least two candidates that are running for a specific office. In such an event, the candidates will both state and defend the positions of their party on certain major issues. These debates are typically held over radio, television, online or in public places.

United States Election Glossary pt 2

United States Election Glossary pt 2

Part of knowing how to participate in a United States election is to have a thorough understanding of the language and lingo. This is part two of the United States election glossary, including the more prevalent terms that you need to know.

Butterfly Ballot – This is a paper ballot where the actual voting portion is done in the central fold between two pages, such as in a pamphlet-style ballot. Imagine that when open, the two pages are the wings of a butterfly, and the voting itself is done in the area where you would normally find the body of the butterfly.

Campaign – This is a series of different political actions such as public appearances, advertisements and debates that a candidate will use in order to help him or herself get elected into office.

Candidate – This is a person who is running for a position in an office.

Caucus -This is an informal meeting where candidates, representatives and potential voters can gather in order to talk about issues and the preferred candidate, and then everyone can decide which candidate they are interested in supporting and which delegates they want to send to the convention for the political party. Not every United States state will hold a caucus in this manner, however.

Census – This is an official count for how many people are in a specific region. The survey is held by the government on a periodic basis.

Chad – This is a tiny piece of paper that is punched out of a ballot when using a punch-mechanism mechanical voting machine.

Closed Primary – This is a type of primary election where only registered voters that have registered for a specific political party are capable of actually voting. For example, in a Republican primary election, only registered republicans are going to be allowed to vote, since this particular primary would be designed to choose a republican candidate that is eventually going to run for an office in a general election.

Registering to Vote

Registering to vote is one of the most important things you can do. The right to vote without fear of harassment, reprisal, or coercion is one of the signs of a strong democratic government.

Registering to vote is not hard, and many people mark their 18thbirthday—which also happens to be how old you must be before you can legally vote—by doing just that. In the U. S., registering to vote can be done in one of two ways:

1.Downloading or procuring a copy of The National Mail Voter Registration Form, completing it, and mailing it to your state elections office.

2.Going to your state elections office (this may be in a county courthouse or other government building) and registering in person.

If you are in the military or live overseas for other reasons, you can find out how to register to vote by using Canada 411 resources. (Just because the name says “Canada” doesn’t mean you can’t find information pertinent to the U. S). Once you are registered to vote, you will probably be given information on where your voting station is located. If you aren’t, again you can use Canada 411 resources to find out.

In Canada, the voting registration process is a little different. You can register to vote by checking the box on your federal income tax return. This will automatically add your name to the voters list. You can also contact your local returning officer (this is what Canada calls its election officials). They can give you information on how to register to vote. You can find out who your returning officer is by using Canada 411 resources.

You can also register at the advance poll. You will need a photo idea or two pieces of identification from a list of those documents that can serve as identification authorization. Again, using Canada 411 resources can help you find out which documents these are.

United States Election Glossary pt 1

United States Election Glossary pt 1

Part of knowing how to participate in a United States election is to have a thorough understanding of the language and lingo. This is part one of the United States election glossary, including the more prevalent terms that you need to know.

Absentee Ballot – This is a paper ballot that you can mail if you are not going to be able to vote in your home precinct on the Election Day, or if you choose not to place your ballot at your home precinct. You must mail this absentee ballot before the Election Day in order for it to be counted on the Election Day.

Ballot – This is a piece of paper that lists all of the candidates that are running for an office. You use the ballot to cast your votes for those candidates.

Ballot Box – This is the box where the votes are placed at each polling location.

Ballot Initiative – This is also known as a ballot measure, a proposition or a referendum. It is a piece of legislation or law that is being proposed, that people will be allowed to vote on.

Bill of Rights – This Bill of Rights is comprised of the initial 10 amendments made to the United States Constitution. The amendments were ratified back on December 15 of 1791. The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to make sure that all individuals would be entitled to basic civil rights, allowing them to avoid the tyranny that comes with a central government that is overly powerful.

Bipartisan – This means that it is supported by people from both of the major political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats.

Bicameral – This means that it consists of two different legislative branches, such as the United States Congress, which includes both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Blanket Primary – This is a primary election where all of the names for the candidates from all of the parties are included on a single ballot.

Candidates Running Together and The Electoral College

Candidates Running Together

The candidate for the presidency and the candidate for the vice presidency run together for each of the parties in the election. In the November general election, the presidential candidate and the vice presidential candidate will run together on a single ticket. All of the voters across the nation are charged with the task of choosing a single ticket that they can vote for, meaning that you cannot choose your presidential candidate from one ticket and then choose your vice presidential candidate from a different ticket, it simply does not work that way.

The Electoral College

The next step in the process is the Electoral College. The presidential election on a national basis actually consists of separate elections in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, meaning that there are 51 separate presidential elections. The voters are actually voting for their electors which will be pledged to one of the numerous presidential tickets. These electors are responsible for making up what is known as the Electoral College(don’t confuse it with colleges like accredited online colleges etc). In nearly all circumstances, the names of the actual electors are not written on the ballot, but instead the ballot allows voters to place their choice among the Electors for each of the available tickets, naming the individual presidential and the vice presidential candidates that each state’s electors are pledging to.

The number of Electors in each state depends on how many senators and representatives that state has. Every state only has a pair of two senators, but the actual number of representatives is dependent on the population of the state according to the most recent copy of the census report. The District of Columbia will also participate in any and all presidential elections despite not being an actual state, and it currently has a set of three electors. It is the Electoral college that is typically responsible for selecting the ticket for the president and the vice president of the United States rather than the popular vote, which only occasionally plays a role in the decision making process.

How the President is Selected in the United States

How the President is Selected in the United States

It all begins with the constitution. The basic processes behind selecting the President for the United States is completely spelled out within the pages of the United States Constitution, though there have been modifications by way of the 12th amendment, the 22nd amendment and the 23rd amendment. Over the years, numerous additional steps have been added both by custom as well as state law. The process throughout time has experienced numerous changes to fine tune and to simplify the process by various means. Much in-depth analysis on politics is provided in online degree programs where every basic process of election is described in detail.

The first thing that you are going to want to know is who is capable of running for office. Both the president and his vice president are elected once every four years. They have to be at least 35 years old in order to run, and they must also be a native born citizen in the United States. Additionally, they must have been a resident in the United States for at least the past 14 years. Presidents and vice presidents can only be elected to two terms, meaning that they can only be president or vice president for up to eight years.

Are you wondering how political parties decide on their candidates? This is up to the political party to decide. Most of the political parties generally hold a convention, and these are essentially large meetings that are attended by a number of delegates. Some of these delegates are determined by primary elections from state to state, while others are elected by the state caucus, which is similar to a primary but they use public voting in place of secret ballots, and some delegates are determined because they are prominent within the party.

A majority of all delegate votes is required in order for a delegate to win the nomination for the party. In most of all cases, the delegates are going to allow their chosen candidate for the presidency to select the vice presidential candidate that they would most like to run with.

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