HOW T
O BECOME
PRESID
ENT OF
THE U
NITED
STATE
S
THE R
OAD TO T
HE WHIT
E HOUSE
WHAT ARE FIVE THINGS YOU WOULD LOOK FOR IN A PRESIDENT?
What else
would be important to you?
WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION SAY ABOUT WHO CAN BE PRESIDENT?
The President must be:
Do you agree with the Constitutional qualifications?
STEP 1
:
PRIMARIE
S AND
CAUCUSES
HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
STEP
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What are the two main political parties in the United States today?
There are many people
who have their own
ideas about how
government should work.
People with similar ideas group together
and form political parties…
STEP
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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Candidates from each party campaign to gain leadership
within their own party.
Multiple people from each party may decide they want to be the
candidate. This is where primaries and
caucuses come in.
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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESMost states hold
a primary, in which voters cast secret ballots for
the best candidate that
will represent the party in the
general election. Click HERE to read more about
primaries.
This is where voters can cast their vote to determine who will
represent each party.
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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESIn some states, a caucus is held
to select the best candidate from each party
through discussions and
open votes. Click HERE to read more about caucuses. Which states hold
caucuses?Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North
Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa
STEP 2
:
NATIONAL
CONVENTI
ON
S
Now it’s time to officially decide who will be the Presidential and Vice Presidential
candidate for each party.
STEP
2N
ati
on
al C
on
ven
tion
s
HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Each party holds a national convention to select a final
presidential nominee.
Photo from: http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/08/30/151014951_480x360.jpg
Photo from: http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/09/06/151392934_480x360.jpg
STEP
2N
ati
on
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on
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s
HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESAt the convention, the Presidential
candidate announces a running mate (Vice Presidential
Candidate).
Photo from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/files/2012/08/wonk0831.jpg
Photo from: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/09/07/bidenobama-fdc1cd7ef8ae88d3fffb9cae1f3fb6c1e8977604-s3.jpg
What do you think a Presidential candidate is
looking for in a Vice President?
STEP 3
:
CAMPA
IGNS
HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
STEP
3C
am
paig
nin
g
The Presidential candidates campaign throughout the country to win the support of the general
population.
What do you think about the campaign ads you have seen?
STEP 4
:
GENER
AL
ELEC
TION
STEP
4G
en
era
l Ele
cti
on
HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
People in every state across the country vote for a
President and Vice President.
When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a
group of people known as electors who are part of the process called the Electoral
College .What is the Electoral College?
Who are electors?
STEP 5
:
ELEC
TORAL
COLLEG
E
STEP
5Ele
cto
ral C
olleg
e
HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
In the Electoral College system,
each state gets a certain number of electors based on
its representation in Congress.
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGEThe Electoral College is a system where 538 electors cast votes to decide who will be the President and Vice President.
Why 29?
Why 538?
This is the total of the members of the U.S. House of
Representatives, the U.S. Senate,
and three votes for the District of Columbia.
In Florida, electors are nominated by their political party and approved by the Governor. Because Florida has 29 electoral votes, each party (Democrat and Republican) is allowed to appoint 29 electors.
435* + 100 + 3 = 538
Florida has 27 Congressional Districts (FL gained two
districts due to a population increase) and 2
Senators….for a total of 29.
Public Law 62-5 says that 435 will be the number in the House of Representatives. This number does not change, rather other states lose
seats as states gain seats in the House.
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGEWhichever candidate receives the popular (majority) vote in a state (>50%), wins the
electoral votes.
Candidate A Candidate B
For example, in Florida:
29 Electors 29 Electors
If candidate B wins more than 50% of the popular vote, their 29 electors get to cast their votes for that Candidate.
Candidate A loses the race for that state.
STEP
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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Each elector casts one vote following the general election,
and the candidate who gets more than half (270 of 538) wins.
Florida has 29
electoral votes.
AND THE
WIN
NER IS
…The newly elected
President and Vice President
are inaugurated (sworn into
office) in January.
Note: Inauguration Day by law is January 20th. However, since the 20th is a Sunday, a private ceremony will be held on January 20th, with a public inauguration taking place on January 21st,
WHAT
DO
YOU
THIN
K?
Comparing Electoral College models: Which is better?
WHICH MODEL IS BETTER?
WINNER TAKE ALL
• More than 50% of the popular vote wins ALL of the elector votes
• 48 of the states use this system
THE DISTRICT SYSTEM • One electoral vote is
awarded to each candidate winning the popular vote in each congressional district *
• The two remaining votes are awarded to the candidates with the most votes statewide
• Maine and Nebraska use this system
*Remember, the number of electors are based on the number of members
in the United States House of Representatives (who represent
congressional districts within a state)…
… and two U.S. Senators.
SOURCES
http://magazines.scholastic.com/Election-2012/faqs-primary
http://kids.usa.gov/president/index.shtml
http://www.factcheck.org/2008/04/caucus-vs-primary/