- Spring of the year before an election – Candidates announce their intentions to run.
- Summer of the year before an election through spring of the election year – Primary and caucus debates take place.
- January to June of election year – States and parties hold primaries and caucuses.
- July to early September – Parties hold nominating conventions to choose their candidates.
- September and October – Candidates participate in Presidential debates.
- Early November – Election Day
- December – Electors cast their votes in the Electoral College.
- Early January of the next calendar year – Congress counts the electoral votes.
- January 20 – Inauguration Day
There
are many people who want to be president, each of these people have
their own ideas about how our government should work. People with
similar ideas belong to the same political party, this is where
primaries and caucuses come in. Candidates from each political party
campaign throughout the country to win the favor of their party members.- Caucus: In a caucus, party members select the best candidate through a series of discussions and votes.
- Primary: In a primary, party members vote for the best candidate that will represent them in the general election.
Step 2: National ConventionsEach party holds a national convention to finalize the selection of one presidential nominee. At each convention, the presidential candidate chooses a running-mate (vice presidential candidate).
Step 3: General Election
The presidential candidates campaign throughout the country in an attempt to win the support of the general population.People in every state across the country vote for one president and one vice president. When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people known as electors.
Step 4: Electoral College
In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors, based on each state's total number of representation in Congress.Each elector casts one electoral vote following the general election; there are a total of 538 electoral votes. The candidate that gets more than half (270) wins the election.
The president-elect and vice president-elect take the oath of office and are inaugurated in January.
