The American presidential election is an indirect election system. First, voters in each state vote for their own electors (the number is equal to the number of members of parliament in their own state), and then the electors in each state elect the president and vice president at the same time in each state capital. Members of parliament are directly elected. Representatives are directly elected by state voters; Senators were originally elected by the state legislature, and the constitutional amendment 19 17, which came into effect in 2003, stipulated that senators were also directly elected by state voters. In some states, governors, legislators, judges and important administrative officials are all elected by voters. Elections at all levels are generally arranged by two parties. In order to ensure the dominance of the two parties, the registered constituency system and the majority representation system are generally implemented.
Voter qualification All American citizens aged 18 have the right to vote. All states except North Dakota require voters to register in advance to vote.
Candidacy The Constitution stipulates that anyone who has reached the age of 25 and has been an American citizen for seven years can run for the House of Representatives. Anyone who has reached the age of 30 and been an American citizen for 9 years can run for the Senate. However, candidates must live in the constituency when they run (so the first lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, temporarily moved to New York State to run for the New York Senate).
There are many ways to produce candidates, which are recommended by party organizations, named by politically influential people and recommended by interest groups, but most of them are self-recommended. If you are a candidate of a political party, you must beat other opponents in the primary election to get the nomination. In some congressional districts where one party has an absolute advantage, winning the nomination of that party almost wins the election.
General candidates are nominated by political parties through pre-selection. The formation of the pre-selection system took more than a century. In the 1930s, the United States formed a system of nominating candidates for political party congresses. Since then, most members of parliament have been nominated by secret meetings within the party, and this system often makes the candidates for members of parliament controlled by party leaders. 1867, Crawford County, Pennsylvania nominated local candidates for public office for the first time by direct pre-selection, that is, voters of both parties directly voted to determine the candidates nominated by their own party. At the beginning of the 20th century, the direct preselection system became popular. By 19 17, 44 of the 48 states in China have implemented some form of direct pre-selection system. At present, all 50 States in the United States nominate political party candidates by direct pre-selection.
Senators election method Senators are directly elected by the states, and each state elects two senators, *** 100, with a term of six years and re-election every two years13. The specific method is to divide senators into three groups, that is, 1 group will be re-elected after two years, 1 group will be re-elected after four years, and 1 group will be re-elected after six years. The basic distribution principle is to ensure that two members of a state do not expire in the same year. If a senator dies or resigns during his term of office, the governor shall organize a by-election. Unless the state legislature authorizes the governor to designate a successor to the senator, the successor can serve in the next general election, but the successor of the general election will only run for the remaining term of his predecessor. For example, a senator who served for six years died in the third year, and his successor participated in the general election one year later. The elected one only served for two years. At present, 49 of the 50 states have authorized the governor to appoint a successor to the Senate, except Oregon, which must be elected by-election.
Before 1866, there was no unified election system for federal senators in the United States, and each state acted on its own. About half of the States are voted by the two houses, that is, the two houses of the state legislature are voted by the House of Representatives respectively until the two houses elect the same person as a federal senator by a majority vote. The disadvantage of this system is that the two houses are often deadlocked, so that some States' seats in the Senate are still vacant after the Congress meets for several months. The other half of the state adopts the "joint voting system", that is, members of both houses of the state legislature vote together, and the person who wins the majority vote is elected. The state's independent electoral system has brought a lot of confusion to the congressional elections. 1in July, 866, the Senate Judiciary Committee submitted a report to the whole hospital, suggesting that Congress unify the Senate election system through laws. The two houses of Congress quickly passed the relevant bills.
The new Senate election method is as follows: the two houses of the state legislature vote separately and elect senators by oral vote. The next day, the two houses will hold a joint meeting to count their voting results. If the two houses elect the same person as a federal senator by more than half of the votes, they shall immediately declare that person elected; If no one gets a majority in both houses at the same time, both houses of the state legislature will hold a joint vote at noon 12 every day in the same session, at least once a day, until a federal senator is elected.
This method of indirectly electing federal senators has been used until 19 13. 19 13, two-thirds of the states ratified the amendment to Article 17 of the Constitution, which stipulated that the senators of the United States were elected by the people of each state, that is, before the state legislature elected the senators, the voters in the state were pre-selected, and the election of the state legislature essentially only stamped the official seal on the pre-selected results.
At present, there are 48 states in the United States, except Georgia and Louisiana.
Voting in the Senate election is optional.
The election method of the House of Representatives The US Constitution stipulates that the election principle of the House of Representatives is: the House of Representatives shall be elected according to the population ratio of each state, and the ratio of the House of Representatives to the population shall not exceed 1: 30,000 (that is, each House of Representatives must represent at least 30,000 voters), but each state must have at least1House of Representatives. The U.S. census is conducted every 10 years, and the seats in the House of Representatives are redistributed according to the census results. According to this ratio, the number of US congressmen will now be as high as 7,000. At present, the number of 435 members of parliament is determined according to the results of the 2000 19 13 census. In the 87th Congress, Alaska and Hawaii each got a quota, so the House of Representatives has 437 members. But it is generally believed that a 650-member legislature like the British House of Commons is too big and stupid to increase the number of members in the House of Commons. Therefore, in 1929, the National Assembly fixed the total number of members of the House of Representatives at 435, and then did not increase with the population.
The US Constitution stipulates that the number of voters representing the House of Representatives shall not be less than 30,000, but in practice, it is found that this provision is too broad. It is inconsistent with the principle of "making every member equal to the number of voters represented by other members" determined by the Supreme Court through cases. Therefore, the Supreme Court ruled through another case that the difference in the proportion of population in each constituency should not exceed 3. 1% when dividing constituencies.
1967, the United States passed a law to cancel all the methods of electing members of the House of Representatives by state, that is, if a state is allocated three places, the state must divide three constituencies within the state, and each constituency should elect one member. Voters in the whole state are not allowed to vote collectively for three members, unless, of course, the state has only one place. California has the largest number of seats in the current allocation of seats in the House of Representatives, with 52 seats; New york is second, with 3 1 seat; Seven States, including Alaska, each have 1 seat; Only 14 states have more seats than 10.
In addition to the members elected by the states, the House of Representatives has resident commissioners from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and representatives from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam and the United States Virgin Islands. These deputies to the House of Representatives enjoy the rights of a majority of members, but they cannot vote.
Election management The Federal Election Law stipulates that the Federal Election Commission manages election-related affairs. The Federal Election Commission consists of six persons nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Federal Election Commission is responsible for enforcing the federal election administration law and prosecuting illegal acts.
According to the Federal Election Law, no individual can donate more than 1 0,000 dollars to the same candidate, 25,000 dollars to all candidates, 5,000 dollars to the same political action committee and 20,000 dollars to the national committee of the same political party in the same year. No political action committee can donate more than $5,000 to the same candidate, no more than15,000 to the National Committee of the same political party, and no more than17,500 to the Democratic Party, * * and the Senate Election Committee of the party. Although the law strictly controls campaign funds, there are still big loopholes in practice. Donors often evade the law by donating soft money (American law does not limit the amount of money that voters donate to support a certain policy, but in fact a certain policy is probably advocated by a candidate, so donating money to support a certain policy is no different from supporting that candidate).
Each candidate must report the donations and campaign expenses received to the Federal Election Commission 65,438+00 days before the election or 30 days after the election, including the names, communication offices and occupations of all donors who donated more than 65,438+000 dollars.
Election type elections are divided into general election year elections, mid-term elections and by-elections. The election year is a parliamentary election in the four-year presidential election year. At that time, presidential elections and parliamentary elections will be held simultaneously. Mid-term elections refer to parliamentary elections held in the second year between two election years. An election held when a member resigns, dies or is expelled from the House of Representatives before the expiration of his term of office is a by-election.
Members are composed of 0/00 seats in the current Senate, with 55 seats in the Republican Party and 45 seats in the Democratic Party. Of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, * * * and the Party hold 223 seats, the Democratic Party holds 2 1 1 seat, and independent candidates hold 1 seat.
There are 9 women members of the Senate and 58 women members of the House of Representatives.
Members of Congress are mostly male, white, well-educated, middle-aged, middle-or upper-middle-income families. By profession, lawyers account for the most, with the House of Representatives accounting for more than 40% and the Senate accounting for more than 60%. Followed by entrepreneurs and bankers, there are very few members who really come from trade unions or blue-collar workers.
The re-election of the United States has set a limit of no more than two consecutive terms for the presidency, but there is no limit on the term of office of members. In fact, the re-election rate of American lawmakers is quite high, with 92% of the re-elected members of the House of Representatives and 75% of the re-elected members of the Senate. In an ordinary general election, members with 50-70 seats in the House of Representatives can be re-elected without any campaign efforts.
The main reasons why incumbents can be easily re-elected are: 1. More resources are available than opponents. You can give speeches on TV, radio and assembly to let voters know and be familiar with them (voters tend to vote for people they know better); You can also send letters to voters through assistants to strengthen contact and let voters remember; You can also use your position to benefit your constituency and make voters feel grateful. The incumbent is more likely to get campaign funds than his opponent.
The presidential election system in the United States
(A) the presidential election in the United States
According to the Constitution of the United States, the United States has a presidential system, and the executive power belongs to the President. The functions and powers of the head of state and government are concentrated on the president. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is not accountable to Congress. The president is elected by the general election held every four years for a term of four years and can be re-elected once.
The process of American presidential election is long and complicated, including pre-selection, presidential candidate nomination, election, national election, electoral college voting and the inauguration ceremony of the elected president.
The primary stage usually begins in New Hampshire on the third Tuesday in February and ends in June. After that, American democracy, * * * and the two major political parties will elect representatives to attend their national congresses in most states of the country. In a few states that don't hold primary elections, the delegates are elected by the state committees or congress of the two parties. Because New Hampshire leads in the primary election, its election results have a great influence on other states.
The national congresses of the two major political parties in the United States are usually held in July and August respectively. At that time, the representatives of the States participating in the Congress will vote for the party's presidential candidate, and then formally elect the campaign platform through the vice presidential candidate nominated by the presidential candidate. Meetings often last for several days and have hundreds of votes.
After the congress, the elected presidential candidate began to canvass for several months across the country, including campaigning in various states, meeting voters extensively, giving TV speeches, debating on TV and so on. Presidential candidates spend a lot of money on the campaign and engage in all kinds of tricks.
According to American law, in national elections, voters should vote at the designated place on the second Tuesday of June 165438+ 10, and choose between the two presidential candidates. The national election will also be voted by the electoral college. Since the presidential candidate who gets the most votes in a state wins all the electoral votes in that state, elections are usually just routine.
(2) How was the vice president of the United States elected?
In American politics, vice presidents don't do practical work. His official job is the chairman of the Senate, but this is mainly ceremonial, because he only votes when the Senate votes equally. The daily work of the vice president usually depends on the requirements of the president, which is generally insignificant, such as representing the president at the funeral activities of foreign leaders.
According to the US Constitution, if the president dies or loses the ability to work, the vice president will take over the presidency. Being vice president first is one of the ways to ascend to the presidency of the United States. Since World War II, three vice presidents have acted as presidents during their term of office. Truman died because of Roosevelt, Johnson was assassinated because of Kennedy, and Ford succeeded President because Nixon stepped down. In addition, several vice presidents are presidential candidates, including Nixon, Humphrey, Mundell and George H.W. Bush.
The vice president of the United States is not directly elected by the American people, but is elected by the presidential candidates of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party and elected by the national congresses of the two parties. When a presidential candidate chooses a vice presidential candidate, he should first consider his political qualifications and conditions, but mainly depends on which part of the political party he represents, in order to achieve a balance and win the support of the largest number of voters as much as possible.
But the result of the election does not depend on the presidential candidate's choice of vice president, but on the presidential candidate. 1988 during the U.S. presidential election, many Americans thought that Quayle, the running mate of the party's presidential candidate George H.W. Bush, was too young and inexperienced to be considered, while bentsen, the running mate of the Democratic presidential candidate dukakis, was rich in experience and won the admiration of the people. But as a result of the election, Bush won and became president, and Quayle naturally became vice president.
A vice presidential candidate is usually a member of Congress, but a senator has a better chance of being elected as a vice presidential candidate. The reason is that once the senator is elected as the vice president, he will serve as the chairman of the Senate, which can strengthen the ties between the president and the Senate.
(C) the primary stage of the US presidential election
The primary election is the first stage of the US presidential election. Usually February-June is the pre-selection stage. At this stage, representatives of all parties' national congresses are mainly elected, and finally presidential candidates of all parties are produced at the national congresses of all parties.
At present, most States in the United States implement direct pre-selection, and directly elect representatives to participate in the party's national congress through voter voting. Voters can also express their views on presidential candidates directly. Since the deputies to the National Congress clearly expressed their support for which presidential candidate, the voting results can clearly know the support rate of each presidential candidate. This is the primary election held in New Hampshire on February 1 this year.
Another form of pre-selection is called "cadre meeting" (or "grass-roots meeting"). The two parties hold grass-roots meetings of the party at various election points in a state. Voters who support the party express their support for who is the party's presidential candidate on the spot and elect representatives to attend the county-level representative meeting. Then the county representative meeting elects the state representative meeting, and the state representative meeting elects the national representative meeting, and finally decides the party's presidential candidate. 65438+1This is the primary election held in Iowa on October 24th.
Iowa is the first state in the country to hold a party congress, and New Hampshire is the first state to hold a direct primary election. The pre-selection of these two States plays the role of "wind vane" and "barometer", and the election results will affect the pre-selection of other States in the future, so it is very important for the success or failure of candidates.
The primary election activities in each state, whether in the form of primary election or primary election convention, are generally only allowed to participate by voters who clearly indicate that they are Democrats or Republicans, and voters who do not know their party positions cannot participate. Even the former voters, in fact, only a small number of people participated.
(d) The term of office, office and position of the President of the United States.
American general elections often involve three concepts with different meanings: term of office, term of office and position.
With regard to "term of office", the US Constitution stipulates that presidential elections are held every four years, and the term of office of the president is four years. If the president fails to complete his term of office for some reason and someone else takes over, the two presidents are the same president.
About "Ren", it refers to the number of times you have served as president. A person holds several presidential posts and still holds one term. But a person has been elected many times in several consecutive presidential elections, and several elections count several times.
About "bit", it refers to the number of people who have actually served as presidents. From the beginning of the presidential election in the United States, no matter whether it is re-elected or re-elected, there are several times when there is no double counting.
In this way, Bill Clinton is the 52nd, 42nd and 4th1president of the United States.