Electoral+Process+-+General+Election

The //general election// in the United States is the election conducted every 4 years which elects the //President//, the members of the federal and state //House of Representatives//, and third of the members of the federal and state //Senate//. It is a very important part of American democracy, as it is the election that will either keep a majority party in power or allow a new party to come to power, as a party usually needs to win the Presidency to cement their influence for the upcoming years.

For a candidate to be listed in the general election, they must have won their party's //primary//, running against the peers of their party to win the party nomination for whichever seat they are running for, either Presidential, or one of their state's federal or state Congressional seats. Once they've secured this nomination, they're put on the ballots throughout their state or the entire country if they're running for President, and the voters of the nation decide who wins on Election Day, the first Tuesday of November. It's important to note that if the party that nominates them isn't big enough or if they're an Independent candidate, it is possible they won't be listed in all the ballots for the race.

The process is different for the Presidential and federal and state Congress races. For the Presidential race, there's the Electoral College, where each state has electors who officially give their delegates to a candidate based on the popular vote of their state. In the Congressional race, only a third of the Senate is up for re-election, as a Senator is given a six year term when they're elected.

__**Presidential Election Process**__
To be in the Presidential general election, a candidate must have won their primary election for their party, who will nominate them as their candidate in the election. While candidates today are usually either nominated by the Republican or the Democratic party, they can also run with on a third party candidate or as an independent, but if they don't receive enough support in a state, they won't be listed on the ballot on Election Day.

To be elected as President of the United States, a candidate has to win 270 electors from the //Electoral College//. The Electoral College is the system implemented in the original Constitution to be a safeguard against the potentially misinformed votes of their peers who were thought to be less educated and intelligent. In this system, each state gets a certain amount of electors depending on their representation in Congress. Every state gets 2 electors with their Senators, and 1 or more depending on how many seats they have in the House of Representatives. To win the electors from a state, a candidate has to win the popular vote. If they win by even 1 vote, they will win all the delegates from the state. Nebraska and Maine are exceptions to the rule, as they split their delegates depending on what percentage of the popular vote is won by each candidate.

The United States holds its official Election Day on the first Tuesday of November, with some votes taken earlier from early voting and absentee ballots. The states collect votes and usually release exit poll numbers to media outlets, who broadcast and keep track of the numbers for the American public. The first candidate to reach 270 electoral votes wins the race, and is inducted into the Presidency in January if they're not an incumbent.

**__Congressional Election Process__**
The Congressional general election process consists of citizens voting in all of the members of the House of Representatives and voting in one third of the members of the senate. A general election is usually between party nominees and independent candidates competing for a seat in one of houses of Congress. In the end the winner of the this election become a member of Congress and wins that seat.

Every two years the Congressional general elections are held. The members of the House of Representatives run for office every two years and the citizens of the United States vote on each member in every election. For the Senate however, only one-third of the members are up for re-election every two years. This is because Senators have six year terms. So after two years the members that were elected six years ago are up for re-election. So the first election will have 33 senators running, the next will have another 33 senators running, and the third election will have the remaining 34 senators running. After the six years the process is repeated and the cycle continues. In both cases however the candidate with the majority vote wins the office position that they are running for.

General congress elections are held in November every two years aligned with the presidential elections. As the votes are collected they are they reported the the media who then display them for the people to see.

__Local Elections:__
There are no set parameters on how local elections work, but many municipalities choose to elect their mayor or town council either during Election Day or in May. These seats are very important, and many of the candidates that run for them are part of one of the two major parties.

__Vocabulary Terms:__
//general election -// the election held in the United States ever 4 years that elects a new House of Representatives, President, and a third of Senate, both at the state level and federal level.

//House of Representatives -// the lower house of Congress, with 435 members and 2 year terms.

//Senate -// the upper house of Congress, with 100 members, 2 from each state, and 6 year terms

//President -// the Commander-in-Chief of the United States, head of the military, an extremely important leader, 4 year term

//primary -// an election held for political parties before Election Day, which decides who will represent the party in each race

//Electoral College// - collection of people selected by their state to represent their people's popular vote and elect the President

__Section Review Questions:__
1. How often are Senators re-elected? a. Every year b. Every two years c. Every four years d. Every six years

2. True or False: To win the electors from any state not Nebraska or Maine, a Presidential candidate has to win by at least how many votes? a. 10000 b. 1 c. They must win a 2:1 majority d. All the votes

3. How is the winner of a Congressional election selected? a. By popular vote b. By a committee c. By the President d. By the governor

4. How are the amount of delegates given to each state determined? a. Randomized b. Everyone gets 2 c. By amount of Representatives in the House plus 2 for the Senate d. By amount of Senators plus 1 in the House

__Sources__:
 "How Elections Work." //About.com Election //. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

"How Does the US Election Work?" //- World //. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

"How the U.S. Presidential Elections Work." //How the U.S. Presidential Elections // //Work //. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

//Authors: Anirudh Katipally - editor, Tomor Dishnica, Casey Barry//