1. How the President is Elected

2. Step 1: Declaring Your Candidacy
A presidential candidate first makes an official announcement that he or she is running for president.
Then, he or she must file papers with the federal elections commission, which regulates the election process.
Candidates usually make these announcements at least a year before the presidential election.
Must be 35-years old, a U.S. citizen, and must have lived in the U.S. for 14 years.

3. Step 2: Primaries & Caucuses
To win his/her party’s nomination, candidates must compete to win the most delegates in state elections called primaries & caucuses
Candidates are running against people in their own party
Starts in Feb. of the election year and runs through June
This year, the Republican candidate needed 1,144 delegates to win the nomination

4. Primaries
A primary election looks very much like a general election: Voters get ballots that list the names of the people running for president and then go to a polling place and vote for one of those people.
1st Primary: New Hampshire
Most primaries are closed and winner-take-all

5. Caucuses
A caucus is a gathering of people who discuss the issues and the candidates at a central location and then cast their votes for candidates.
Usually in states with smaller populations
1st Caucus: Iowa

6. Step 3: The Convention
Each party holds a national convention in late summer
The purpose of the convention:
1. finalize the party’s nomination
2. finalize the party’s platform
Republican Convention: week of Aug. 27th,
Tampa, FL
Democratic Convention: week of Sept. 3rd
Charlotte, NC

7. Step 4: The Campaign
The official campaign begins after both parties have held their conventions – usually after Labor Day Weekend
Five main way candidates campaign:
1. rallies/whistle stops
2. debates
3. media – ads, news coverage, press releases
4. Internet – websites, fundraising tool
5. grassroots organization - volunteers go door- to-door and make phone calls in their local
community

8. Step 5: The General Election
Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every 4 years (Nov. 6, 2012)
However, the president is not elected by the people on Election Day
The president is officially elected by the electors of the Electoral College
When we vote for a candidate, we are actually voting for electors who are committed to that candidate
Winner-take-all system
Is it possible to win the electoral vote, but lose the popular vote? Yes! It happened in the 2000 Election.

9. Step 6: The Electoral College
The Electoral College officially elects the president on the first Monday after the second Wed. in December
Framers did not trust the common people to elect their own president
Each state is given a number of “electoral votes” = to the # of Senators + # of Representatives they have in Congress.
California has 55 (2 Senators + 53 Reps.)
All states have at least 3 electoral votes
Washington D.C. also has 3 electoral votes
Candidate needs 270 out of 538 to win
Results are read before a joint session of Congress in January – this makes it official!

10. Step 7: Inauguration Day
The new president elect does not officially take office until he/she is inaugurated
Inauguration Day is January 20th
On Inauguration Day the new president is sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and takes the oath of office