how to elect US president美国总统选举.ppt

Step 1 The Primaries The primary is the first step in choosing a partys presidential candidate. The primary season begins in the January before the election and lasts until about June. This is where candidates fight within the two main parties, Republican and Democratic, for their partys nomination. In most countries, the party picks the candidate. But in the US, voters who declare support for one party or another get to choose from the list of candidates. The candidates, campaigning against other members of the same party, must win enough state primaries to give them a majority of delegates at the party convention in the summer. Step 2 The Convention The party conventions are one of the great set pieces of American politics. Each state arrives at the hall with its own delegates and banners declaring which presidential candidate it supports. By this stage, the party normally knows who has won. The delegates from each state formally choose their champion to go forward as presidential candidate. The candidate with the most delegates wins - and normally secures the support of party rivals. The winning candidate also names a vice-presidential running mate. Step 3 The Campaign The rival candidates square up for the presidential campaign proper. Policies are refined, often to take into account the supporters of the candidates who have been eliminated. This stage of the campaign is shorter than the slog through the state primaries. There is heavy spending on nationwide television publicity, and there are usually televised debates between the candidates. In the final weeks, the contenders typically concentrate their attention on the big so-called swing states as they battle it out for the critical electoral college votes. Step 4 Election Day Every four years, on Election Day, (Tuesday after the first Monday in November), registered voters in the United States cast their votes for presidential electors. Collectively, these electors form the Electoral Co