In the United States, elections are considered to be a periodic review of government policies by citizens, evaluation and assessment of political achievements and the performance of officials, thereby determining the change of government and the retention of officials. Elections are the most important means for citizens to manage state affairs and supervise the government. Elections are the only basis for the legitimacy of the government and those in power. Therefore, the electoral system is an important part of the American political system, and elections are one of the most important political landscapes in the United States.

1. Presidential Election

(1) Procedure

The basic process of presidential election includes nominating candidates, campaigning, voting, and being elected.

In general, the presidential election is divided into five stages: the first is the preliminary election stage; the second is the congress stage; the third is the formal campaign stage; the fourth is the voting stage; and the fifth is the Electoral College voting election stage. The first and second stages can be collectively referred to as the "Presidential Candidate Nomination Stage." This stage can also be called the intra-party competition stage. The main purpose is to first filter and select candidates who want to compete for the presidential position, and then "nominate" "(actually electing) presidential candidates who formally participate in elections on behalf of political parties; the third and fourth stages can be called the "formal election stage", and this stage can also be called the competition stage between the candidates of the two parties. The purpose of the competition is to enable the party candidate to win a majority of votes; the fifth stage is the Electoral College vote to select the president. This stage is the "decisive stage of the election results". Under normal circumstances, it only confirms the results of the election vote. If there is a deadlock or dispute over the election results, corresponding constitutional procedures will be initiated, and Congress or the Federal Supreme Court will decide who is president.

The United States implements an indirect electoral system. Legally speaking, the president and vice president are elected by the Electoral College. When voting in a general election, voters nominally determine the members of the presidential electoral college, that is, the electors. The total number of electors is the number of representatives plus the number of senators, plus the number of electors from the District of Columbia, which is equal to the number of representatives from the least populous state. The total number of electors is now 538. The Electoral College formally elects the president and vice president after voters cast their votes on Election Day (the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the election year), which is the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December of the election year. .

(2) Qualification restrictions of candidates and voters

The legal qualifications of the president are stipulated by the Constitution. The president must be a citizen born in the United States, be over thirty-five years old, and have lived in the United States for at least fourteen years. The same applies to the vice president's qualifications. The president serves a four-year term and, constitutionally speaking, the president or vice president can be reelected indefinitely.

Universal suffrage was achieved. Suffrage was extended to all white adult men, women, citizens over 18 years of age, blacks, and voters in the District of Columbia. However, the right to vote is still subject to residency restrictions and the need to apply for voter registration before voting on election day.

(3) Voting and counting methods

The "Electoral College system" is the only stipulation on the presidential election method in the U.S. Constitution. The president is elected by the state legislatures through the Electoral College, that is, indirectly elected by voters.

In the Electoral College, a state is a unit. The number of electors in each state is equal to the total number of senators in that state in Congress, which is 538 presidential electors. Electoral lists are proposed by the party's state convention, state central committee, or preselections. On Presidential Election Day in November, voters in each state vote on the list of presidential electors proposed by each political party in their state. All the electors on the list of a party with the majority of votes are elected. The elected electors of the party guarantee their votes for their party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Electors from each state assemble in the state capital on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, and each elector casts one vote for the presidential candidate and the vice-presidential candidate. The voting results are signed and certified by the electors and sent to the President of the U.S. Senate by registered mail, and the votes are counted in public at a joint meeting of the House and Senate. Candidates who receive more than half of the electoral votes are elected president and vice president.

If no candidate gets more than half of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives will elect one of the three presidential candidates with the highest votes as president. The House of Representatives votes on a state-by-state basis. Each state has one vote. Only two-thirds of the state's legislators must participate to achieve the quorum, and the candidate with more than half of the votes can be elected; if no vice presidential candidate obtains more than half of all electoral votes, a re-election will be held by the Senate, starting with the candidate with the highest number of votes. One of the two vice-presidential candidates is elected as vice-president. Each senator has one vote. Only two-thirds of all senators participate to achieve a quorum. Only the candidate with more than half of the votes can be elected.

(4) Characteristics

Compared with some European countries, the electoral system of the United States has its own characteristics.

1. Affected by decentralization. Decentralization distracts public attention. The United States implements the separation of powers among the three branches of government, with Congress playing a particularly prominent role. This decentralization of power can also be reflected in elections. In a presidential election year, the elections of congressmen and the president are intertwined. Although people pay more attention to the presidential election, the campaigns of congressmen are often reported in the media and attract people's attention. Hillary Clinton is running for Senate in New York this year, and her campaign has received more media coverage than some of the presidential candidates. Decentralization affects voter behavior. In general elections, when they choose a candidate of a certain party to be president, they often vote for another party when electing members to maintain the balance of power.

2. Influenced by federalism. Each state in the United States has great power, which is also reflected in elections. Electoral systems vary greatly from state to state. Even some political science professors have difficulty explaining the specific systems of each state. Election methods vary even more. For example, in terms of voting methods, California uses card ballots, and the votes must be counted by the state election office after casting; Louisiana uses voting machines, and voters only need to point their fingers on the computer screen to vote. For the project, the results are tallied immediately; in Arizona, voting is done online, and voters can vote at home. Some states also vote on some state bills and personnel arrangements during the primary elections. Sometimes there are twenty or thirty items on a ballot.

3. The role of political parties is relatively weak. Compared with some European countries such as the United Kingdom, political parties in the United States play a much weaker role in elections. The two major parties in the United States do not have a fixed membership team. In name, voters are members of which party they are registered as supporters of at the time of election. The party organization has no binding force on such party members, and they can change their support to another party at any time. When many voters vote for a candidate in an election, they do not mainly consider which party they belong to, but rather their personal factors, such as policy propositions and personal charisma. The organizations of the two major parties in the United States are very loose. There is no leadership-led relationship between federal-level organizations and state-level organizations, and so on. The link between party organizations at all levels is the common values ????and the quadrennial work of selecting party representatives. Some states have their own party platforms and bylaws. The campaign platform and presidential candidate selection procedures formulated by the National Committee every four years are the platform and charter of the entire party and have a certain guiding role for state party organizations.

2. Election of members of Congress

The U.S. Congress implements a bicameral system, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 435 representatives in the House of Representatives and 100 senators in the Senate. The House of Representatives represents the national principle of American democracy and allocates representation according to the population of each state. The term of the House of Representatives is 2 years, and all are re-elected upon expiration; the Senators represent the federal principle of the American democratic system, advocating that all states, regardless of size, are equal and have equal representation in the Senate, which means that each state has equal rights in Congress. An equal number of senators (2 per state). The term of a senator is 6 years, with 1/3 being re-elected every two years. Congressional elections are held every two years (even-numbered years), and every other election is held together with the presidential election every four years. The congressional elections held between two presidential elections are usually called "midterm elections." Since there are no term limits for members of Congress, it is very common for members to be re-elected. According to statistics, the number of members of Congress who have been elected 5 to 9 times in a row accounts for more than 30% of the total; the number of members who have been elected more than 10 times in a row also accounts for about 15%.

(1) Basic conditions for voters and candidates

1. Voter qualifications

U.S. citizens who are 18 years old have the right to vote. Except in North Dakota, other states All states stipulate that voters must register in advance before they can vote.

2. Qualifications for Representative Candidates

The U.S. Constitution stipulates that a Representative must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the United States for seven years, and elected from the state that elected him or her. resident. It is also customary to make sure that he or she must live in the congressional district that he or she represents. A senator must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for nine years, and a resident of the state that elected him or her at the time of his or her election. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution that the House of Representatives and the Senate are the "arbiters of elections, election results reports and qualifications" of members of the House, Congress can refuse to take office by a simple majority vote for those elected members who do not meet the requirements of the Constitution, but can expel one. Members must pass by a 2/3 majority vote

(2) Election procedures and rules

1. Allocation of congressional quotas

The United States Constitution. It stipulates that the Senate represents the states, with a maximum of 100 seats, and each of the 50 states, regardless of size, has 2 senators to reflect the equal status of the states in the federation; the House of Representatives represents the people, with a maximum of 435 seats, based on the population of each state. The proportion of the national population is allocated to each state, but each state should have at least one representative. A national census is conducted every 10 years, and Congress redistributes seats based on changes in the population of each state. In addition, the House of Representatives passed by Congress in 1929. The seat redistribution law also stipulates that after each census, the president shall submit a report to Congress on the current population situation and propose the number of seats each state should have. If Congress does not take action within 60 days, the redistribution of seats will automatically take effect.

2. Division of constituencies

Since senators have nothing to do with the population of each state, there is no problem of redistribution of seats, so there is no problem of division of constituencies. Both of them are elected in the whole country. The number of representatives in each state depends on the population of the state, which requires each state to divide one or more congressional districts. The Constitution does not provide for the election of representatives in congressional districts, and it is entirely up to the state to decide where the representatives are. Within what range to elect. Since 1842, Congress has passed a series of laws and stipulated that: Representatives are elected from congressional districts; only one representative can be elected in a district; districts are connected to each other; and the population of districts should be as equal as possible. , thus establishing the small-district constituency system. Now, except for the six states with only one member, the representatives of other states are elected in the state's congressional districts. However, the problem of "unfair gerrymandering" still exists. , the majority party in the state legislatures continues to use its power to draw congressional districts in grotesque ways to benefit its party

3. Voter registration

In the United States, the age qualification for voters is. 18 years of age. The election adopts an optional voter registration system, that is, the law does not require that persons who are qualified as voters must be included in the voter list, but are included according to the wishes of the voters. Each state adopts in-person registration and non-in-person registration according to their respective laws. There are two methods for regular voter registration, but North Dakota does not require voter registration, and Ohio and Missouri adopt incomplete registration.

4. Candidate nomination

Generation of candidates. There are many ways, such as recommendation by party organizations, roll-calling of powerful political figures, and recommendation by interest groups. However, in most cases, candidates who belong to a certain political party must defeat other opponents in the party in a party's preselection. Winning the party's nomination In some congressional districts where one party is overwhelmingly dominant, winning the party's nomination is almost as good as winning the race.

5. Pre-selection

General candidates obtain party nominations through pre-selection. All states in the United States use direct primaries to nominate party candidates.

Preliminary elections are one of the features of the American electoral system. Because preselection laws are enacted by state parliaments, the preselection rules of each state are very inconsistent. There are three main types:

① Closed preselection

It is a strict intra-party preselection that requires Voters must be members of their own party to participate in party preselections. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia use this type of preselection.

② Open-door pre-selection

Voters can vote in the pre-election of any political party without declaring their "party membership" or party preference, but they are not allowed to vote in the pre-election of more than one political party. It is adopted by 8 states including Idaho.

③ Wide open pre-selection

Voters do not need to declare their "party membership" or party leanings and can vote in more than one party pre-selection. It is adopted by 3 states including Washington.

In most states, the candidate with the most votes is nominated; in southern states, a candidate with a majority of votes is also required. If there is no majority in the first vote, a run-off will be made from the two people with the most votes.

6. Election

The election of members of Congress is held on the same day across the country. Usually a relative majority system is implemented. As long as you get the most votes (not necessarily a majority), you can be elected. In this way, only the two major parties can win enough constituencies across the country to have enough seats in Congress, while it is difficult for small parties to achieve success.

7. Election funds

In the United States, the main sources of campaign funds for members of Congress include: the candidates themselves and their families; donations from individual citizens; donations from companies and special interest groups; donations from the party funding. Federal election campaign laws stipulate that there is no limit on the total amount of campaign funds provided by congressional candidates and their families; there are no restrictions on campaign expenditures by congressional candidates; there are no restrictions on the amount of campaign expenses that individuals, political action committees, and groups can provide to support or oppose a candidate. There is no limit on expenses for “independent” activities. However, the law places clear limits on the amount of individual, political action committee, group contributions and party funding that can be provided to congressional candidates. According to federal campaign laws, any individual may not contribute more than $1,000 to the same candidate, $25,000 to all candidates, $5,000 to the same political action committee, or $5,000 to the same political party in the same year. National committee contributions may not exceed $200,130. Any political action committee may not make more than $5,000 in contributions to the same candidate in one year. Contributions to the national committee of the same political party may not exceed $15,000. Donations cannot exceed $17,500. Although the law strictly controls campaign funds, there are still big loopholes in practice. Donors often circumvent legal constraints by donating soft money.

Each candidate must report donations and campaign expenses received to the Federal Election Commission 10 days before or 30 days after the election, including the names of all donors who gave more than $100, Communications Office and Careers.

(3) Characteristics of congressional elections

1. There is a unity of diversity and consistency in the game rules of congressional elections. "Diversity" refers to the different specific standards for the delineation of electoral districts in each state, the different sizes of electoral districts, the different pre-selection times for representatives and senators (from March to October), and the different pre-selection methods (from closed-door pre-selection to open-door pre-selection). Ballot designs are different, voting methods are different, and votes are counted in different ways. "Consistency" means: the rules for candidates to win elections are consistent, and the voting time for official elections is unified across the country, that is, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each election year.

2. There are local and national congressional elections. "Locality" is reflected in the geographical size and population represented by each representative or senator, the economic basis of the district, the average annual income of voters, the media market where the district is located, the racial structure of voters, the average age of voters, and the characteristics of the district. Political habits are all different, and these factors closely related to elections are all local. "National" means that the election of each member is not isolated but related to the national situation. It is affected by the national political climate, the overall image of the party, its support rate among the people, and the support rate of the party leader. .

3. For a House of Representatives candidate, the order of issues he considers is "constituency first, party second, and national third." For Senate candidates, it’s “first in the state, second in the party, and third in the country.” Compared with representatives, senators pay more attention to personality and national reputation.

4. In congressional elections, the position of a candidate has a great impact on the candidate's election funds, campaign organization, campaign strategies and tactics, and campaign results. There are three types of candidates based on their status: incumbents, challengers, and contenders for open seats.

3. Election of state legislative members

Except for Nebraska, the 50 state legislatures in the United States all implement a bicameral system, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The number of members in the House of Representatives ranges from 40 to 400, but most states have about 100 members. With the exception of 4 states, the term of representatives of representatives in other states is 2 years. The Senate is composed of approximately 40 people, and most state senators serve four-year terms.

Most state parliaments meet once a year, from January to May or at the end of June. There are more than a dozen of the smallest or least populous state legislatures that meet only once every two years. Some state constitutions stipulate the number of days during which the state Legislature can hold regular sessions, usually 60 or 90 days. There are also several large state legislatures that meet year-round. In addition, the state Legislature may convene special sessions at the request of the governor to address pressing issues, and special sessions are generally not subject to restrictions imposed by the state constitution.

In addition to the general conditions, state legislators must have lived in the state for a certain number of years and in the district for a certain number of years. The former ranges from 1 to 7 years, and the latter ranges from 1 to 2 years. Members of the state House of Representatives and Senate are elected by state congressional districts, which are often held on the same day as presidential and congressional elections and on the same ballot. The election process for state legislators is the same as that for members of Congress. It also goes through two stages: the nomination of candidates and the formal election of candidates by voters. However, the nomination methods of each state are different. Some states (mainly southern states) implement the party congress system, some use the caucus system, and some states combine the two systems. In addition, according to the provisions of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, when a state's senator becomes vacant, the governor of that state shall issue an order to hold a fill-in election. However, when a vacancy occurs in a senator, the state assembly may authorize the governor to appoint temporary senators until the people hold a by-election in accordance with the instructions of the state assembly.

4. Brief historical knowledge

1. The historical prototype of the Electoral College system

One of the most difficult issues faced by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, That's how to elect a president. The difficulty is that this method of electing the president must ensure the independence of the president. At the same time, it must be technically reasonable, politically effective, and consistent with the government and political system. Because the representatives sympathized with a representative government based on popular consent, but hoped that it would not be a direct democratic government in which every citizen could participate in the public policy-making process, they were eager to establish a government that would elect the best candidates. A mechanism for a president who is qualified but not necessarily the most popular, but without precedent. Representatives proposed and discussed three options for this purpose.

The first is the Virginia Plan: It advocates following the method implemented by most states at that time, where the state assembly elects the governor, and the Congress elects the president. This is both realistic and politically convenient. Because this plan made the president's independence restricted and threatened by the legislative body and was inconsistent with the basic principles of separation of powers and checks and balances, it was ultimately opposed and rejected by the representatives.

The second is the direct election plan: Because many representatives consider that the United States has a vast territory, poor communication and transportation, people do not understand the situation, and the local political realities of separation and independent administration are not suitable for holding a nationwide election. Campaigns and elections; the vast territory is also not conducive to effective supervision and control of national elections. Elections are easily manipulated by a small number of conspirators, "and can easily lead to extremely violent movements in the entire society." (Note: Hamilton et al.: "The Federalist Papers", Commercial Press, 1982 edition, page 347.) Therefore, there is a lack of confidence in the ability of the people to elect the president. In the words of Representative George Mason, allowing the people to elect a president directly was "as unreasonable as asking a blind man to distinguish colors." (Note: Hamilton et al.: "The Federalist Papers", Commercial Press, 1982 edition, page 347.) Therefore, this plan was also rejected by an overwhelming vote. "Most representatives feel that direct elections by the people are neither necessary nor feasible." (Note: David C. Whitney: "Biographies of the Presidents of the United States", Tianjin People's Publishing House, 1986 edition, page 547.

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The third option is the Presidential Electoral College plan, which was put forward as a compromise plan after the first and second plans were rejected. Its content is: (1) Presidential electors are elected by states through a method designated by their state parliaments; (2) To ensure their independence, electors cannot concurrently hold federal government offices; (3) The total number of electors is different from that of each state. The number of members of the two houses of Congress is equal; (4) the electors vote within the designated time and send the results to Congress, and the president of the Senate, the Vice President, announces the results to the joint meeting of the two houses of Congress; (5) the electors cannot vote between two Vote simultaneously for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the state; (6) The person who gets the majority of the electors' votes is elected as the president, and the person with the second-largest number of votes is the vice president; (7) If no presidential candidate gets a majority of the votes, the person who gets the majority of the votes will be elected. The House of Representatives elects the top five presidential candidates with the most electoral votes based on the principle of one vote per state; (8) If two or more presidential candidates get the same number of votes, the Senate selects the vice-president from among them. Presidential candidate. It can be seen that the plan is a multi-layered compromise plan, in which Article (1) reflects the concessions and compromises made to the advocates of federalism while adhering to the political system and form of government, and Article (3) provides for the care of large states. It has the advantage in the number of electors when electing the president. Article (7) provides that the interests of small states in the emergency procedures for electing the president are taken care of to maintain the balance of interests between large and small states. Article (7) (8) provides that It also takes into account the power of the House of Representatives and the Senate to elect the president under emergency procedures. It should be noted that the many compromises among the large and small states were particularly important to the acceptance of this plan by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. They believed that the antagonism and mutual distrust among the states was so strong that it would be impossible for any other presidential candidate except Washington to obtain a majority of the Electoral College votes. The plan therefore gives large states the power to nominate presidential candidates and small states the power to make the final choice.

2. The formation of the pre-selection system

The formation of the pre-selection system took more than a century. In the 1830s, the United States formed a system in which candidates were nominated by party congresses. Since then, most congressmen have been nominated by secret meetings within the party. This system makes the selection of congressmen often controlled by the party leader. In 1867, Crawford County in Pennsylvania first used the direct primary method to nominate local candidates for public office, that is, voters from both parties directly voted to determine the candidates nominated by that party. In the early 20th century, the direct preselection system was promoted. Around 1900, some states enacted statewide primary selection laws; by 1917, 44 of the country's 48 states had implemented some form of direct primary selection. All states in the United States now nominate party candidates through direct primaries.