Presidential Election The process of selecting the Commander-in-Chief

The President Every four years a president is elected Must be 35 years old Born in the U.S. Lived in the U.S. for 14 years John F. Kennedy was the youngest president at 43 Ronald Reagan was the oldest president at 77

Stage 1: The Primaries Political parties must nominate a candidate About 10 months before the presidential election, parties have voters select a candidate Example: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Joe Biden, and Bill Richardson all ran for the Democratic Party nomination in 2008 When one nominee arises as the favorite, the political party holds their National Convention and officially nominates that candidate Prior to the National Convention, the president selects a Vice President to run with him/her

Stage 2: Presidential Campaigning Candidates campaign until Election Day TV, radio, internet ads President and Vice President candidates travel the country to speak with millions of Americans

Stage 3: The Debates Three presidential debates One vice presidential debate Moderated by an unbiased journalist such as Jim Lehrer, Gwen Ifill, or Tom Brokaw Candidates are asked questions developed by American citizens

First Presidential Debate

Vice Presidential Debate

Second Presidential Debate

Third Presidential Debate

Stage 4: The Election All American citizens who are 18 or older and registered to vote can vote on election day Only one day of voting, one vote per person Each state totals their votes If John McCain receives the majority of votes in Arizona, then he wins the state of Arizona Example: McCain: 55% Obama 40% Other 5% McCain receives 100% of Arizona’s electoral vote

Stage 5: The Electoral Vote Electoral votes are determined by the state’s population Need 270 electoral votes to win If neither candidate has a majority, then the House of Representatives decides

2000 Presidential Election Results Popular Vote Al Gore: 50,996,116 George Bush: 50,456,169 Electoral Vote Al Gore: 266 George Bush: 271 Winner: George Bush Popular vote does NOT elect president

Stage 6: Tallying the Results It takes weeks to tally all of the results, but newspapers usually project the winner within a day by adding together the electoral votes from each state candidates are expected to win

Stage 7: Inauguration of the President January 20: The president and vice president-elect are inaugurated into office and begin serving the country