US Voting Process Paper

Elections are a democratic process in which citizens cast a vote to elect certain candidates which will represent them and their ideals. Electoral systems are important in promoting democratic governance. The kind of system embraced by every nation could help inhibit or promote governance and stability. Elections are a series of processes that begin from voter registration to the declaration of results. Knowledge of these processes can help provide insight on the opportunities and challenges to be addressed (Griffin & Newman, 2005). This paper analyses how the US elections work. This will include who votes and the factors that impact election outcomes. The first-past-post system is the most prevalent method of voting used in American elections.

This is an indirect election where the votes cast by members of the Electoral College determine the winner (Polsby, 2012). Elections are won by a candidate who has garnered 270 Electoral College votes. A candidate could win the electoral vote but lose the popular vote. Before changing the 12th Amendment of the American Constitution (1804), the vice president became the runner-up during the elections. Congress, on the other hand, has two chambers including the Senate and House of Representative (Jamie & Jason, 2011). There are a hundred members in Senate who are elected for a period of six years. The class is the term used to describe the number of Senate seats available during an election in a particular year. Till 1913 after the passing of the 17th Amendment of the American Constitution, states determine the mode of electing senators. In most cases, state legislatures elected senators and not the electorates. On the other hand, there are 435 members in the House of Representatives who are elected for a period of two years. Elections for the House of Representatives elections are conducted after two years (Jamie & Jason, 2011). There could be Special House elections between in the event