The document outlines the US electoral process for selecting a president. It describes the two-part process of first nominating candidates through state primaries and caucuses from February to June. Then the general election in November where the nominees from the two major parties compete for the presidency. It explains how candidates earn delegates at state conventions to win their party's nomination at the national convention. Finally, it discusses how the president is indirectly elected through the electoral college system rather than a popular vote.

1. The Electoral
Process

2. The Road to the Presidency
• TWO separate elections occur:
1.) Elections (primaries + caucuses) to pick
each party’s candidate
• Members of the same party compete
to be the party’s ONE nominee
• Election occurs February-June of
election year

3. 2.) Election to pick who gets to be
president (general election)
• two party candidates (Democrat vs.
Republican) compete for the ONE
position as president (with third
parties)
• Occurs on 1st Tues. in November of
election year

4. Part I: Nominating the Party
Candidate
Each state has a primary or a caucus
where people vote for one candidate for
a political party (ex: Republican primary
or a Democratic primary)
• Several people from the same party can
compete for the nomination, but in the
end, there can only be ONE candidate
per party

5. • primary - statewide election in which
voters vote for the candidate they like
best from a particular party (can only
vote in ONE)
–Closed primary - only registered
members of a political party can vote
–Open primary - voters choose one
ballot (Republican or Democrat) and
vote for who they think will be the
best presidential candidate
–Most states today have primaries
instead of caucuses

6. • caucus – (instead of a primary)
local elections in townhall settings
where voters choose their preferred
presidential candidate
–In the 2016 election, 13 states
and 3 territories held caucuses

7. Winning Delegates
• Delegates are people from a political party
that a candidate “wins” to go vote for them at
their party’s National Convention
-bigger the state = more delegates assigned by
political parties
-A Democratic candidate needs to win 2,382
delegates to get the Democratic nomination
- A Republican candidate needs to win 1,237
delegates to get the Republican nomination

8. • Whichever candidate wins the most
votes in a state’s primary or caucus gets
the most delegates
TWO POSSIBLE SET-UPS:
– Winner-take-all: Candidate with the most
votes gets ALL the state’s delegates
– Proportional Representation: Candidates
get a percentage of the state’s delegates
based on what percentage of the vote they
got

9. The National Convention
• Each party has a National Convention
where they officially elect their ONE
presidential candidate and adopt their
party platform (summer of election year)
• By this time, there is ONLY ONE
candidate from each party running for
president against each other (1
Republican vs. 1 Democrat)

10. Part II: Winning the Presidency
• The presidential election is NOT won by popular
votes, but by electoral votes in the Electoral
College
• Voters in each state actually choose electors who
vote for a candidate
– basically, we vote for the president indirectly
• # Electoral Votes in a State = # in Reps. in House
of Representatives + # of Senators)
– Virginia has 13 Electoral Votes because we have 11
Representatives + 2 Senators = 13
– Electors are NOT delegates or politicians, just party
loyal people

12. • Each elector promises to vote for a certain
presidential candidate
– Ex: So when you vote for Trump/Pence, you’re
really voting for the electors in your state who
have promised to vote for Trump/Pence in the
Electoral College
• The presidential candidate who gets the most
votes in a state gets ALL* the state’s electoral
votes (*except Maine and Nebraska – are
proportional)
-->YOU NEED 270 (out of 538) ELECTORAL
VOTES TO WIN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

13. • After the election, the electors meet in
their state capitals in December of
election year to officially vote for the
president
• Electors should and generally vote the
way their state voted (but are not
necessarily required to)

14. Campaign Financing
• Running for office costs A LOT of
money…
–About $1.5 million to run for a
House seat
–About $20 million to run for a
Senate seat
–In 2016, both presidential
candidates spent a combined $2.4
billion to run for president

15. Where Do Candidates Get Their
Campaign Money?
• Individual donors can give no more
than $2,800 to a candidate; no more
than $50 if giving anonymously)
• PACs and Super PACs
• Gov’t subsidies (grants)
• Fundraising organizations
• A candidate’s own money

16. Political Action Committees
(PACs)
• Groups of people who want to influence
gov’t decisions by spending money on
candidates’ campaigns
• PACs can only give up to $5,000
directly to any one candidate
• Super PACs are backed by
corporations and can spend unlimited $
(but can’t give it directly to a candidate’s
campaign)

17. The FEC
• Federal Election Commission -
bipartisan committee that regulates and
enforces laws on campaign financing
– created by the Federal Election Campaign
Act of 1974 (to limit and reveal financing)
– has 6 members (3 Rep., 3 Dem.)
– campaign contributions by individuals and
groups must be reported to FEC

18. • Hard money - given directly
to candidates
• Soft money - given non-
regulated funds to sources
like political parties to then
give to their candidate (illegal
now)

19. QUIZ
• Suffrage
• Electorate
• Political
socialization
• Political efficacy
• Literacy test
• Straight ticket
voting
• Poll tax
• Split ticket voting
• PAC
• Super PAC