American citizens will vote to elect their new president in November of this year. The whole world will watch this election.
Along with the president, American citizens will also vote to elect new members of Congress who will play a key role in passing a bill or law. These laws can have a profound impact on the lives of American citizens.
The US presidential election will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. The candidate who wins the election will serve in the White House for the next four years. The tenure of the new President will begin from 20 January 2025.
The US President has the right to pass some laws himself. But most of the laws have to be passed with the help of the parliament.
The US president has a lot of freedom to represent his country on the global stage and set foreign policy.
Who are the candidates in this election and how were they selected?
The two major political parties in America have nominated their candidates. To this end, these parties hold state primaries and caucuses, in which party-leaning voters choose their party’s leadership candidate.
In the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump won the support of his party by taking a big lead over his opponent. At the party convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he became the official presidential nominee of the Republican Party.
President Joe Biden was the natural candidate from the Democratic Party, but since he did not perform well in the first debate with Trump, Biden announced that he would not be a candidate. After that, Vice President Kamala Devi Harris is competing for the presidency on behalf of the Democratic Party.
Apart from these, some independent candidates were also in the race to become the presidential candidate. Chief among these was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of former President John F. Kennedy. But in late August, he ended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.
What is the position of the Democrats and the Republican Party?
The Democratic Party of America is a liberal political party, whose agenda is primarily to advance and secure solutions to the issues of civil rights, social security and climate change.
The Republican Party is the conservative party of America. It is also known as GOP or Grand Old Party. This party favors tax cuts, shrinking the size of government, gun rights, and opposes immigration and strict abortion bans.
How is the presidential election in the United States?
In a US presidential election, the candidate who receives the most votes in the entire country does not win. For example, Hillary Clinton received the highest number of votes nationally in 2016. But she lost in the Electoral College elections.
Presidential candidates must compete to win elections in all 50 states. Each state has a fixed number of electoral colleges, based in part on population. There are 538 such electoral colleges. Out of which the candidate who wins 270 or more is the winner.
In all but two states, the candidate receiving the most votes is awarded all electoral college votes. Most of the states are leaning towards one party or the other. There are about a dozen ‘swing states’, which are also called ‘battlegrounds’. Therefore, the candidates focus their attention on those states which will be decisive in the election.
Who can vote in the US presidential election?
All citizens over the age of 18 can vote in the presidential election. In all states except North Dakota, voters must register before voting. Each state has its own procedures and deadlines for voter registration.
US citizens living abroad can also register to vote. They can request a postal ballot by filling out a federal post card application.
Apart from the presidential election, who else is elected?
Right now, the attention of people around the world is on who will be elected as the President of the United States. But apart from the President, American voters will also elect members of the US Congress. This law is passed in Congress ie Parliament.
There are two houses in the US Parliament-
* House of Representatives. Elections are being held for all its 435 seats.
* The Senate, for which 34 seats are up for election.
Currently, the Republican Party has a majority in the House of Representatives. This is where spending plans are approved in America. While the Senate is controlled by Democrats. The Senate votes on important government appointments.
When will we know who won?
Usually the winner is announced on the night of voting itself. But in 2020, it took a few days to count the votes.
If a new president is elected, the period after the election is called the transitional period.
During this period, the new administration is given time to appoint cabinet ministers and plan for the new term.
The president is sworn in in January. This is called ‘inauguration’. It is held at the Capitol Building in Washington DC.
BBC
