I put together this slide set for my classmates at USC in the International Public Policy and Management Program (IPPAM) in the Price School of Public Policy. As most are foreign nationals, they wanted to learn more about our Presidential elections. It was a great refresher for myself as well. Feel free to enjoy and share.

1. Presidential Elections in the U.S.
By: Molly Nichelson
IPPAM 17

2. So I’m a Presidential Enthusiast
But Macey Hensley beats me. Really!
http://youtu.be/XFismjYRcRM

3. U.S. Presidents:
What do they do?
How are they elected?

5. The Executive Branch
• President of the United States
– Head of State
– Commander in Chief (military)
– In charge of the administrative duties of the U.S.
Federal government
– Oversees and appoints Federal agency heads,
federal commission, federal judges, ambassadors
and other federal offices

6. The Executive Branch
• President of the United States
– Signs, vetoes or pocket vetoes legislation from
Congress
• Congress can override a Presidential veto if it gets
2/3rds of both Houses
– Enforces the laws of the U.S.
– Four year term
– Vice President runs with the President

7.
Presidential Elections
And for the record, Frank Underwood’s path is
not the normal path to the Presidency

8.
Who Can Run for President?
Article Two of the United States Constitution stipulates that for a
person to be elected and serve as President of the United States:
•Be a natural-born citizen of the United States
•At least 35 years old
•A resident of the United States for a period of no less than 14
years

9.
Presidential Candidates
• Campaign Staff – run your election
• Campaign Offices – volunteers & staff
• Campaign Committees – fundraising
• Frequent trips to the first two states who
decide the President of the United States:
Iowa and New Hampshire

10.
First State to Vote for President
• Iowa Caucuses - http://youtu.be/0RXie7FJqOA
– First state to have a caucus to elect the President:
January 18, 2016
– Republican and Democratic citizens in each
precinct (a local voting district) meet separately
– Each group debates and then votes for their
favorite candidate
– Delegates are chosen in each county to ultimately
choose the Presidential candidate

11.
Presidential Primaries
• Each state picks its primary date
• The first few states truly ‘choose’ the
Presidential candidates
– Candidates focus on these states to get their
name I.D. and campaigns there to show they are
the best and most viable

12.
Prestial Caucuses

13.
After the State Primaries
• Republican & Democratic Nominees for President
‘chosen’
• Party Conventions
– Democratic Convention: Philadelphia, PA in July
2016
– Republican Convention: Cleveland, OH in July 2016
– Largely ceremonial now, but ratifies each party’s
nominee
– Vice Presidential running mate announced

14.
2016 Presidential Election
Tuesday, November 8, 2016

15.
Presidential Election: Voting
• Must be a U.S. citizen
• In most states, you must be 18 years old to vote, but
some states do allow 17 year olds to vote
• Each state have their own residency, identification,
and registration deadlines and other requirements to
vote (and they can be changed by the state
legislatures!)
• Each state election office has more information
– California Secretary of State: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/

16.
Presidential Election: Voting
• Registered voters goes to their precinct to vote on Tuesday,
November 8, 2016
– Most states allow mail in ballots and some (like Oregon)
are only mail in ballots
– Poll times open at different hours in different states
• News organizations report their polling results
– Can skew an election
– Different time zones in the U.S.

17.
Presidential Election: Electoral College
• Established in 1787, 12th
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
• The Electoral College consists of 538 electors
• A majority of 270 electoral votes required to elect the President
• Each state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of
members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member
in the House of Representatives plus two for each Senator
– California has 55 electoral votes
• Each candidate running for President in your state has his or her
own group of electors and are generally chosen by the
candidate’s political party

18.
Presidential Election: Electoral College
• When voting for your Presidential candidate, a U.S. citizen is
actually voting for an elector to vote for the President
• Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all
electors to the winning presidential candidate
• There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that
requires Electors to vote according to the results of the
popular vote in their States
• More information: http://www.archives.gov/federal-
register/electoral-college/electors.html#selection

19.
Presidential Election: Electoral Votes
270 are needed to win the Presidency

20.
Presidential Election: Electoral College
• After November 6 after the popular votes are cast and a clear
winner is chosen, the duties of the electoral college and that
of each state’s governors are to ‘just’ to ratify the winner
• However the popular vote and the electoral vote aren’t
always aligned as it was in 2000 with George W. Bush and Al
Gore
• More on the 2000 Presidential election can be found on C-
SPAN: http://www.c-span.org/video/?318210-1/2000-
presidential-election

21.
Questions?
And thank you for your time!