The US presidential election process is a complex system that has been going on  for almost 2 centuries. It is a highly structural process blended with federalism and democracy. The election process involves multiple stages, key figures and a unique voting system to ensure the president gets elected through a free and fair process.

The Electoral College: How it works

 

The US presidential election is a kind of indirect election which means people do not directly vote for the presidential candidate but instead they cast their vote for the electors in the electoral college ( body which chooses the president).

The electoral college consists of 538 members which includes 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 senators and 3 electors from Washington DC. To win the presidency a candidate requires 270 electoral votes which is considered an absolute majority.

Each state is allocated a number of electors based on its representation in Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. For example a large state like California  has more electors(55) while a smaller state like North Dakota will have 3.

In the Electoral College system, most states use a "winner-take-all" approach, where the candidate who receives the most votes in that state gets all of its electoral votes. This means if a candidate from California wins 51 % of votes he will take all 55 seats under this system despite the other candidate winning a substantial number of votes.

However, Maine and Nebraska use a proportional system that can split electoral votes based on district-level and statewide results.

The number of seats of the House of Representative is altered with the altering population; if the population rises in a particular state, its electoral seats will automatically be increased.

 

Steps of US election process

 

The US election process takes place in the following steps:

1.Primaries and Caucuses: It is the stage when candidates compete in state-level contests to win delegates.

2. Party Conventions: In the second stage the delegates choose their party's nominee for the contesting the election or can say party declares their president and Vice president nominee.

3. General Election: In the third stage the nominated candidates compete nationwide by delivering powerful speeches.

4.Electoral College Vote: It is the most important stage where electors cast votes for president and vice president.

5. Inauguration: And the final stage is Inauguration where the elected president and vice president take office.

Scenario of 2024 US election:

 

In the upcoming 2024 presidential election, Kamala Harris, the current Vice President, is the presidential candidate for the Democratic party succeeding Joe Biden. She is 60 years old and has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, also 60, as her running mate

 On the other hand, the Republican Party has chosen former President Donald Trump, who is 78 as presidential candidate while Ohio Senator JD Vance, 40, is his running mate.  Besides this, Jill Stein is representing the Green Party, having previously run in 2012 and 2016, while Chase Oliver is the candidate for the Libertarian Party.