The Electoral Process

1
The Electoral Process

• Elections

2
Elections

• Once nominated, the candidates must face each
  other in general elections. These are the funal
  elections where voters choose the person who will
  take office. Both the States and the National
  Government have laws to help keep electons free,
  honest, and accurate.
• The Constitution says Congress can decide "the
  times, places, and manner of holding elections"
  for its members. Congress has set its election
  day as the first Tuesday following the first
  Monday in November of every even numbered year.
  MostStates elect their officials on the same day.

3
Elections

• One interesting thing that happens in many
  elections is the coattail effect. When voters
  like a strong candidate running for high office,
  they may also vote for other candidates in that
  person's party. These other candidates may "ride
  the coattails" of the party's popular candidate
  and win.

4
Elections

• In our early history, American voters often voted
  by voice. By the mid 1800's, voters used ballots.
  A ballot is the paper of card on which a voter
  marks a choice in an election. Today, most states
  use a kind of ballot that was first used in
  Australia. The ballot usually has four important
  features.
• On some ballots, all candidates for a certain
  office are grouped together. This is called the
  office-group ballot. Other ballots are
  party-column ballots. These list each party's
  candidates in a column. This kind of ballot
  encourages people to vote for a party rather than
  an individual.
• Casting a ballot is another name for voting.
  Where voters cast their ballots depend on two
  things. The first is the precinct, or voting
  district in which the voters live. The second is
  the precnct's polling place, or the building
  where voters actually vote.
• Some areas use voting machines that allow a voter
  to cast one vote per office. Voting machines help
  keep elections honest. New ways of voting include
  counting votes electruonically and allowing
  citizens to vote by mail.