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Voting 101

A campus resource for understanding American elections and preparing to vote.

Understanding...

Video Credit: The Electoral College - Explained, CBS News, published October 2, 2024. https://youtu.be/jbrt0Sfjo5I?si=_SwxT6N-k4Cwsyhq

OThe Electoral College is the system used to determine the winner of the presidential election. It is not necessary that the winning candidate receive the most individual votes, called the popular vote; rather, they need to win more electoral votes. Electoral votes are the votes that each state holds, and the number of electoral votes that a state has is determined by the number of representatives they have in Congress (both members of the Senate and the House of Representatives), which is in turn determined by the population size of that state. There are a total of 538 electoral votes amongst all of the states (CBS News, 2024). In order to for a candidate to earn a state's electoral votes, they must receive the most individuals votes within that state. For most states, it is a 'winner take all' situation, meaning that whichever candidate receives the most individual votes receives all of that state's electoral votes. However, two states (Maine and Nebraska) allow for the electoral votes to be split amongst the candidates depending on the number of votes that they receive (CBS News, 2024). In order for a candidate to win the presidency, they must receive 270 electoral votes (CBS News, 2024). 

 

Although it is not necessary to win the popular vote in order to win the electoral vote, and thus the election, most of the time, whoever wins the electoral vote usually also wins the popular vote. There are only 5 times in the history of US presidential elections where the winner did not also win the popular vote, with the most recent instance being the 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton (CBS News, 2024).

 

References

CBS News. (2024, October 2), The Electoral College - Explained [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/jbrt0Sfjo5I?si=_SwxT6N-k4Cwsyhq 

Presidential: Presidents have 4 year terms and they can only serve a maximum of 2 terms. 

State Representatives:

  • U.S. Senate: Senators have 6 year terms. At present, there is no maximum amount of terms that can be served in the U.S. Senate. The elections are staggered over a period of 6 years, with 1/3 of the total seats up for election every 2 years.

 

  • U.S. House of Representatives: Members of the House of Representative have 2 year terms. Like the Senate, there are currently no limits to the amount of terms served. 

 

  • Governor: Term lengths and term limits are determined by the individual states. That being said, most states have 4 year terms, including Iowa and Illinois. Some states allow for 2 consecutive 4-year terms, and some states like Iowa and Illinois do not have any term limits.

 

Information courtesy of whitehouse.gov

There are three branches of the United States Federal Government: The legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The three branches each have distinct powers with a system of checks and balances put into place to ensure that no one branch has more power than the others. You will find more information about who makes up each branch and the power that they hold below courtesy of whitehouse.gov:

Legislative: "The Legislative Branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress. The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.
The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members. Members of the House... must be 25 years of age, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state (but not necessarily the district) they represent.
The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, 2 for each state... Senators must be 30 years of age, U.S. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the state they represent."

Executive: "The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise.

The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely divergent as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission."

 

Judicial: "Members of the Judicial Branch are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Article III of the Constitution, which establishes the Judicial Branch, leaves Congress significant discretion to determine the shape and structure of the federal judiciary. Even the number of Supreme Court Justices is left to Congress... The Constitution also grants Congress the power to establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court, and to that end Congress has established the United States district courts, which try most federal cases, and 13 United States courts of appeals, which review appealed district court cases."
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the land and the only part of the federal judiciary specifically required by the Constitution. The Constitution does not stipulate the number of Supreme Court Justices; the number is set instead by Congress. There have been as few as six, but since 1869 there have been nine Justices, including one Chief Justice. All Justices are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and hold their offices under life tenure. Since Justices do not have to run or campaign for re-election, they are thought to be insulated from political pressure when deciding cases. Justices may remain in office until they resign, pass away, or are impeached and convicted by Congress."

American Voting Timeline

References:

  • Lenhart, K. (2024). History of Voting. Flagler Elections. https://www.flaglerelections.com/Voter-Outreach/History-of-Voting
  • Timeline - Important Dates in the Voting History of the United States. (2024). Center for Civic Education. Retrieved October 28, 2024, from https://www.civiced.org/voting-lessons/voting-timeline
  • Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act. (2024, July 4). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voting_Accessibility_for_the_Elderly_and_Handicapped_Act&oldid=1232652891 
  • Voting Rights Act: Major Dates in History. (2024). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved October 28, 2024, from https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights-act-major-dates-in-history#section-1866
  • Voting Rights Milestones in America: A Timeline. (2021, April 19). History.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024, from https://www.history.com/news/voting-rights-timeline