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How the President of the United States is elected
Every four years – on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November – millions of U.S. citizens go to local voting booths to elect the next President and Vice President of their country. Their votes will be recorded and counted, and winners will be declared.The President and Vice-President of the United States must be at least 35 years of age, they must be native-born citizens of the United States, and they must have been residents of the U.S. for at least 14 years. A person can be elected only twice, which means a President can be in office for two terms.
To choose their candidates, most political parties hold conventions, attended by delegates. The delegates can be selected by state primary elections, by state caucuses (it means that they use public voting instead of secret ballots) or they can also be chosen for their prominence in the party. To win the party’s nomination a majority of delegate votes is needed. In most cases, the delegates let their chosen presidential candidate select a vice-presidential candidate.
In the general election, each candidate for President runs together with a candidate for Vice-President on a ticket. Voters select one ticket to vote for which means they can’t choose a presidential candidate from one ticket and a vice-presidential candidate from another ticket.
Electoral College
The national presidential election consists of a separate election in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The voters on these 51 elections are actually voting for electors, pledged to one of the tickets. These so called electors make up the Electoral College. The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of its senators and representatives. It means that there are two senators from each state, but the number of representatives depends on the state population. Each state has the same number of electors as it has senators and representatives.
In most of the states the election is a winner-take-all, which means whichever ticket receives the most voters in that state gets all the electors. There are only two exceptions – Maine and Nebraska – as in these two states just two of the electors are chosen in a winner-take-all manner from the entire state. The remaining electors are determined by the winner in each congressional district, with each district voting for one elector. When the Electoral College is formed, it votes for President and for Vice-President, with each elector casting one vote. These votes are called electoral votes. Each elector is pledged to vote for particular candidates for President and Vice-President.
When the election poll closes the votes are counted, resulting in one of the candidates receiving a majority of the electoral votes. It usually means that he (or she) has got more than half of the electoral votes. The candidate who has got the majority of the votes will be elected President of the United States. That candidate’s vice-presidential running mate will then also receive a majority of electoral votes (for Vice-President), and that person will be elected Vice-President.
But what happens if there is no Electoral College winner? In this case the House of Representatives chooses the President. This is however a very rare event.
6th November, 2012
The next United States presidential election is to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will officially elect the president and the vice president of the United States on December 17, 2012, will be chosen. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama is running for a second term. His major challenger is former Massachusetts Governor, Republican Mitt Romney. Two other candidates have attained ballot access, which is sufficient to mathematically win the election by a majority of the Electoral College. They are former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee and Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee. Virgil Goode, the Constitution Party candidate, and Rocky Anderson, the Justice Party candidate, also have ballot access plus write-in status in enough states to reach the 270 electors.
Inauguration Day is the day on which the President of the United States is sworn in and officially takes office. After a morning worship service, the oath of office is traditionally administered on the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC. The Vice President takes the oath of office at the same ceremony as the President. The oath is as follows:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
The 2013 Presidential Inauguration will be held in Washington DC on Monday, January 21, 2013. By law, the President must take his Oath of Office on January 20th before noon. Since the 20th falls on a Sunday, there will be a private ceremony on that date and the public ceremony will be held the following day. A week of festivities will include the Presidential Swearing in Ceremony, Inaugural Address, Inaugural Parade and a night of Inaugural Balls and galas honoring the new President of the United States.
voting booth [ˈvəʊtɪŋ buːð] – szavazófülke
to elect [tu ɪˈlekt] – választ
vote [vəʊt] – szavazat
to be recorded [tə bi rɪˈkɔːdɪd] – rögzítve lenni
to be counted [tə bi ˈkaʊntɪd] – megszámlálva lenni
to be declared [tə bi dɪˈkleəd] – kinyilatkoztatva/bejelentve lenni
native-born citizen [ˈneɪtɪv bɔːn ˈsɪtɪzən] – az országban született állampolgár
resident [ˈrezɪdənt] – lakos
to be elected [tə bi ɪˈlektɪd] – megválasztva lenni
in office [ɪn ˈɒfɪs] – hivatalban (lévő)
term [tɜːm] – ciklus, időszak
candidate [ˈkændɪdət] – jelölt
political party [pəˈlɪtɪkəl ˈpɑːti] – politikai part
convention [kənˈvenʃən] – gyűlés (US)
to attend [tu əˈtend] – részt vesz
delegate [ˈdelɪɡeɪt] – képviselő, küldött
secret ballot [ˈsiːkrɪt ˈbælət] – titkos szavazás
ballot [ˈbælət] – szavazócédula, szavazás
prominence [ˈprɒmɪnəns] – kiemelkedés, kimagaslás
nomination [ˌnɒmɪˈneɪʃən] – jelölés
to vote for [tə vəʊt fɔː] – szavazni valamire/valakire
presidential election [ˌprezɪˈdenʃəl ɪˈlekʃən] – elnökválasztás
to consist of [tə kənˈsɪst ɒv] – áll valamiből
elector [ɪˈlektə] – választó
to be pledged to [tə bi pledʒd tuː] – valamire fogadalmat tett
to be equal to [tə bi ˈiːkwəl tuː] – egyenlő valamivel
representative [ˌreprɪˈzentətɪv] – képviselő
to depend on [tə dɪˈpend ɒn] – valamitől függ
state population [steɪt ˌpɒpjʊˈleɪʃən] – állam népessége
whichever [wɪtʃˈevə] – bármelyik (is)
exception [ɪkˈsepʃən] – kivétel
manner [ˈmænə] – mód, módszer
remaining [rɪˈmeɪnɪŋ] – megmaradó, fennmaradó
to be determined by [tə bi dɪˈtɜːmɪnd baɪ] – valami által meghatározva lenni
to cast (a vote) [tə kɑːst ə vəʊt] – szavaz
particular [pəˈtɪkjʊlə] – bizonyos/ különleges
election poll [ɪˈlekʃən pəʊl] – választás
to result in [tə rɪˈzʌlt ɪn] – valamit eredményez
rare event [reər ɪˈvent] – ritka esemény
quadrennial [kwaˈdreniəl] – négyévenkénti
incumbent [ɪnˈkʌmbənt] – hivatalban lévő
challenger [ˈtʃæləndʒə] – kihívó
former [ˈfɔːmə] – egykori, korábbi
to attain [tu əˈteɪn] – elér, elnyer
sufficient [səˈfɪʃnt] – elegendő
nominee [ˌnɒmɪˈniː] – jelölt
to be sworn in [tə bi swɔːn ɪn] – felesketve lenni
to take office [tə teɪk ˈɒfɪs] – elfoglalja a hivatalát
worship service [ˈwɜːʃɪp ˈsɜːvɪs] – istentisztelet
oath of office [əʊθ əv ˈɒfɪs] – eskü, fogadalom
solemnly [ˈsɒləmli] – hivatali eskü
to swear [tə sweə] – esküszik, felesküszik
to affirm [tu əˈfɜːm] – állít
faithfully [ˈfeɪθfəli] – hűségesen
to execute [tu ˈeksɪkjuːt] – véghez visz
to preserve [tə prɪˈzɜːv] – megőriz
constitution [ˌkɒnstɪˈtjuːʃən] – alkotmány
