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- Process involves primaries, caucuses, and national conventions for each party
- General election in November where citizens vote for electors, not directly for President
- Candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency
The U.S. presidential election is one of the most widely followed political events globally, not just because of the country's economic power but also due to the impact of American leadership on global issues.
The journey to becoming President of the United States is a complex process involving several critical steps.
Here, we break down the key stages as detailed by the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Kazakhstan.
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1. Primaries and caucuses
The electoral process kicks off with the primaries and caucuses. These are pivotal in selecting delegates who will represent their party at the national conventions.
Candidates from each political party campaign through the country to win the favor of their party members.
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This phase typically starts in February and features critical votes in states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.
These early events often play a significant role in determining the final presidential nominee for each party.
In caucuses, party members engage in discussions and votes to select the best candidate.
In contrast, primaries involve direct voting by party members to choose their preferred candidate to represent them in the general election.
2. National conventions
Following the primaries and caucuses, each party conducts a national convention. Here, state delegates previously chosen endorse their preferred candidates, and the final presidential nominees are announced.
Each party holds a national convention to select a final presidential nominee, where the presidential candidates also pick their running mates (Vice Presidential candidates).
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3. The general election
During the general election, held in November, citizens across the United States cast their votes.
However, they are not directly voting for the President but for a group of representatives known as electors.
The system, except in Maine and Nebraska, generally awards all electoral votes of a state to the candidate who receives the majority of the popular vote in that state.
The ultimate aim for any candidate is to gather the majority of electoral votes, with at least 270 needed to win the presidency.
4. The electoral college
The Electoral College plays a critical role in determining the President of the United States.
Each state gets a certain number of electors based on its representation in Congress totaling 538 electors.
Following the general election, each elector casts a vote, and the candidate with more than half of these votes (270) wins the presidency.
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The process concludes with the inauguration of the President and Vice President in January, marking the start of their administration.
This content was generated by an AI model and verified by the author.