A primary is similar to an election. A candidate is
selected through a small state organised election.
The candidate with the most votes wins
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Caucuses are small meetings organised by the party,
where supporters elect candidates they think
should be in the running to be President
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Primaries and Caucuses are the first step
in a candidates Presidential journey
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Bill of Rights Institute (2020) Primaries and Caucuses [Online]. Available at: https://billofrightsinstitute.org/engage/student-resources/think-the-vote/primaries-and-caucuses/. (Accessed 21 November 2020)
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Each party holds a national convention
where they finalise their decision.
One Presidential candidate is selected
based on the results of the causcuses
and primaries and the vice presidential
candidate is also selected
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National Convention
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USA GOV (2020) Presidential Election Process [Online]. Available at: https://www.usa.gov/election (Accessed: 21 November 2020)
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The General Election &
The Electoral College
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The Electoral College was created by the
Founding Fathers as an attempt to balance
electoral power between states with different
sized populations
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The electoral college is a group of
with a shared task. To select the President
based on how residents in their state voted
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People cast their ballots in their states.
Each state is represented by electors who
cast their vote in the electoral college. The
votes from the electoral college determine
who becomes the President
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The states population determines the number
of representatives, senators and electors they
have and the number of votes the state has.
All states are guaranteed at least 3 votes.
00:51
U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom (2020) The Electoral College [Online]. Available at: https://uk.usembassy.gov/the-electoral-college/ (Accessed: 20 November 2020)
BBC News (2020) US election 2020: What is the electoral college? [Online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53558176 (Accessed: 20 November 2020)
00:57
00:57
To win the election a candidate needs
270 votes from the electoral college
out of a possible 538
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Joe Biden received 306
votes in the election
this year
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On the 20th January 2021 Joe Biden
will be sworn in as the 46th President
of the United States of America
and Kamala Harris as Vice President
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Kommenda, N et al (2020) US election results 2020 : Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump to win presidency. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-
interactive/2020/nov/30/us-election-results-2020-joe-biden-defeats-donald-trump-to-win-presidency (Accessed: 30 November 2020)