US Election guide: how does the election work?

The U.S. Electoral College is made up of 538 members, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. States gain and lose electors based on Census data.

(from London’s Daily Telegraph) – 314 million Americans, 50 states, two candidates and well over a billion dollars in campaign spending. How does the U.S. election work?

So how do they go about reaching 270?

By targeting “swing states” – a small group of about a dozen states that sometimes vote Democrat and sometimes vote Republican.  [President Obama won all of the swing states in 2008.]

The vast majority of America’s states are considered solidly committed to one party – for example California is unfailingly Democrat while Texas always goes Republican. But others, like Florida, Ohio and Iowa, are open to persuasion. The campaigns focused their time, their money and their resources on winning these swing states and voters there were bombarded with advertising and endless visits from the candidates.

What happens on Election Day itself?

On the morning of November 6, polling booths will open in all 50 states and in Washington DC and around 100 million votes are expected to be cast. Counting begins immediately and when voting finishes in the evening we will get our first glimpse of the exit polls, surveys carried out throughout the day that give an idea of who won.

Usually by around 11pm on the East Coast it’s become clear that one side has prevailed. In that case the losing candidate calls the winner to concede. Both men will give a speech: one to claim victory and the other admit defeat.

But there is always the possibility – as happened in 2000 – that at the end of Election Day we may still not know who’s won. The result could either be too close to call without counting every vote or else legal battles over election procedures may delay the result or force a recount. It could even be a tie, with both candidates stuck at 269, in which case the House of Representatives would vote choose the next president. [Thomas Jefferson (in 1801) and John Quincy Adams (in 1825) were chosen by the House of Representatives because no candidate won a majority of the electoral votes. In Thomas Jefferson’s case it was because he and his opponent technically had the same number of votes. A Constitutional Amendment following the election prevented that from happening again.  For John Quincy Adams, it was a four man race. Andrew Jackson won the most electoral votes, but was short of a majority.]

If Mitt Romney wins does he become president straight away?

No. The next president will be publicly sworn into office on January 21, 2013, in an inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC. If Romney wins he’ll spend the time between November and January – known as “the transition” – assembling his cabinet, his White House staff and preparing for government. If Obama wins his administration will largely stay in place, although he may decide to reshuffle his cabinet and aides for his second term.

Are voters just casting ballots for the presidential election?

No. As well as voting for president, Americans are also electing all 435 members of Congress’s lower house, the House of Representatives, and one-third of the Senate. Plus, they are voting for a medley of local and state officials.

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