Posted on July 15, 2024
The USA presidential election is the foundation of America’s political order, a phenomenon which not only defines leaders for the country but also defines the future to a significant extent. It has taken place four times and has changed over the years the first time was in 1789 to choose George Washington as the first President of America.
Historical Context
Presidential elections in the United States are under the Constitution which formed the basis of democracy in the United States. The Founding Fathers considered the means of choosing the president as the Electoral College which forms a part of an indirect election and has been designed to encompasses the country’s more populated states as well as the less populated ones in equal measure. The described system has been lauded and vilified over the course of centuries, however, it continues to underpin the American presidential elections.
The Electoral Process
Primary elections and caucuses are the first step in choosing the president as the political parties nominate their candidates. These early elections differ also from one state to another, a few adopt a Primary System while others adopt a Caucus System. Nationwide presidential primaries finish up in national conventions of the parties where the delegates duly select their candidates for president and vice president.
Once the nominees are confirmed, it is full campaign to the general election . People go around campaigning, engage in debates, and market themselves to the people. It is a crucial stage for a candidate to engage the electorate base, state his or her plans, and set himself or herself apart from the rival.
Election day and the choice of the electoral college
The Election Day is officially on the first Tuesday that follows the first Monday of November. On this day, millions of Americans go to the polls to vote not for presidential candidates, but for a group of electors pledged to the candidates of their party. This is an indirect form of election whereby the voters cast their vote via a group referred to as the Electoral College that is made up of 538 electors. Thus, to become a winner in the race for presidency one have to score at least 270 of the electoral votes.
Each state’s allocation of electors is based on its representation in Congress: the number of Senators which is always two and the number of its Representatives depending on the population of the state in question. Many states implement the ‘whichever candidate wins the majority of the popular votes in that state earns all the electoral votes of the state. Maine and Nebraska are two states that were found to be in the exception, employing the proportional allocation method.
In this case, the issue to be discussed is the nature of the so called “swing states”.
That is the case with swing states or battleground states that are featured in every presidential election. These states are of equal swing – there are no clear favourites in any of them and they are all hotly contested; this means that they are must-win-states. The result in these states normally gives the final verdict on the election; presidents therefore invest a lot of time and money in these regions.
Challenges and Controversies
The presidential election though criticized for not being fully democratic is a well laid down process that is not devoid of hurdles and complications. Some of these include, voter suppression, gerrymandering among other factors, the role of big money in politics. Further, the actual procedure of the Electoral College as such raises controversy over its probability of negation of the voters’ popular dissent, as in the cases of the popular vote losers in 2000 and 2016, who became Presidents of the USA.
The Importance of Participation
Even with these difficulties, the presidential election is a very important form of the democratic process. This is a privilege as well as a duty of every citizen of the United States where they get a chance to actually influence the policies within this country and leadership. Because an informed public is also an active one the citizens help in boosting the democracy so that officials must answer to the people.
Looking Ahead
Every time the USA is approaching the next presidential election, the aggregate of the population and society as a whole takes minutes and reminds itself of the significance of the democratic principles in the country and in every individual’s life. The election is not only a process of choosing a president but also the recognition of the main values of American society – democracy, freedom, and justice.
Therefore, the USA presidential election can be concluded as one of the most peculiar, multifaceted, and evolving processes that define the very essence of the American democracy. This paper assesses the historical evolution and contemporary issues of democracy, which is a crucial tool for the change of power and people’s discretion. Thus, people vote tracing back over two hundred years of the tradition and supporting the primary principles of the United State.