Explainer: How US Election Works, How President Is Elected (X image @VoteGov)

Washington DC, US: The election process in America is a tad bit different from that of other democratic countries. In US, the popular vote does not define the winner. Rather, a group of chosen electors elect the President and Vice President, after considering the votes of the citizens.

While electing the President, people will also elect new members of the Congress. Congress is the legislative branch of the US government, and is made up of two parts: House of Representatives, and Senate.

The election process starts with the aspiring candidates registering at the Federal Election Commission. There are certain requirements to meet before registering for the candidacy. The individual must be US-born citizen, be at least 35 years of age, and have been a resident of the country for 14 years. They must also raise more than $5,000 for their campaign in order to register with the Federal Election Commission.

Once the registration started, the candidates can start campaign.

Primary and Caucuses:

During this step, states and political parties choose their presidential candidates through secret voting and discussions.

Primaries: Here the party members cast their preferences anonymously in a secret ballot. The results determine how many delegates are allocated to each candidate.

Caucuses: Party members hold meetings where participants may vote secretly or divide into groups according to the candidate they support. The number of delegates allocated is based on the votes received at these meetings.

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The primaries and caucuses may be open, closed, and combinations of both. It depends on state and party rules. Under state-specific rules, the delegates assigned to each candidates represent their state at the national conventions where the party’s presidential nominee is officially chosen.

National Convention:

The National Conventions are organised by each party to officially select their Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. It is during this step, the Presidential candidate choose their running mate.

The candidates normally secure the nomination by winning a majority of delegates in state primaries and caucuses. During the convention, state delegates vote to confirm their candidate. If no candidate has a majority, additional rounds of voting are held until a nominee is chosen.

General Election:

People vote for a president and vice president. Though most people vote on the election day, one can also vote earlier in person at their state or local election office. In some states, people can vote by mail by mailing in a ballot provided by the state. Each state has a different period for this type of voting.

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All voters should be registered and must obtain a voter registration card.

But there is a twist. Citizens do not elect the President and Vice President directly. Here comes the electoral college.

Electoral College:

While the senators and representatives can be won based on the popular votes. President and Vice President are elected by the electoral college.

This step consists of the selection of electors. The Congress will also count the votes casted by the electors during this process.

The electors will be allocated based on people’s vote. These are the ones who back people’s choice of candidate. There are a total of 538 electors across the US, one for each member of Congress, plus three additional voters from the District of Columbia. Each state has a certain number of electoral college votes, which is partly based on population. Each state’s political parties choose their electors.

That is, the number of electoral college in based on the number of House of Representatives each state have. And the number of Representatives is based on population of the country.

So, though a candidate might have won popular vote, he/she might not make the President. Both popular vote, and electoral vote can be entirely different.

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It happened with Republican candidate Donald Trump in 2016. When Democrat Hilary Clinton won popular, Trump became President after winning electoral college.

The Timeline

US election also have a peculiar timeline for each step in the process.

The aspiring candidates should register with the Federal Election Commission during the spring of year before.

During the summer before year of election, Primary and Caucus debates will take place.

From January to June of the election year, the states and parties will hold presidential primaries and caucuses.

From July to September, parties will hold nominating conventions to choose their presidential candidates. During the convention, or just before it’s start, the Presidential candidates will announce their running mate (Vice President).

From September to October, candidates face off in presidential debates.

Then comes the election day. It falls on the First Tuesday of November.

In December, the electors cast their votes for President in the Electoral College.

Early January of the next calendar year, the Congress counts the electoral votes.

On January 20, the Presidential inauguration will take place.