ThepresidentialelectionsystemintheUnitedStates.ppt

The presidential election system in the United States,- 臧华,Outline:,Part I: Introduction (the tradition of election and the qualification of being a president) Part II: The process of the election * the first stage: nomination of candidates * the second stage: the campaigning * the third stage: Appointment of Electors * the electoral college * The fourth stage: electors casting votes Part III: Comment: the merit and flaws of American presidential election,The tradition of electing a president:,Part I: Introduction (the tradition of election and the qualification of being a president) Part II: The process of the election * the first stage: nomination of candidates * the second stage: the campaigning * the third stage: Appointment of Electors * the electoral college * The fourth stage: electors casting votes Part III: Comment: the merit and flaws of American presidential electionAmericans elect their president through a combination of custom, state law, and constitutional requirement such as the Electoral College as specified in Article II, Sections 2 and 4 and Amendment 12. Furthermore, Article II, Section 5 plus Amendments 20 and 23 of the United States Constitution pertain to election of the president.,The qualification of being a president:,A president must be at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the United States for a minimum of 14 years. The president is elected for a four-year term, and any individual is limited to serving two consecutive terms as president. (Exception; Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to four consecutive terms.),“No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.“,Four stages of the presidential election,The first stage: the major parties hold conventions (national party conventions(全国党代会) held in late July or August) to choose candidates for President and Vice President and to determine the parties platforms（党纲）.,The second stage:,Once the presidential candidates of the major parties are selected, the general election comes to the second stage, the campaigning stage. By early fall of the election year, the presidential race is on. From the time to Election Day, voters are bombarded from all sides by radio, television, newspapers, and personal communications with political materials. There are whistle stop tours by train, by plane, and by car. The candidates deliver countless speeches and shake countless hands. This is a very important stage in the general election.,布什常抱婴儿作秀 意在表现亲和力,The third stage:,Appointment of Electors: Election Day. (A president is elected by delegates to the Electoral College (i.e., electors), not directly by the people.) The United States Constitution provides that each state “shall appoint“ electors (who make up the Electoral College) for President and Vice President in the manner directed by its state legislature (Art. II, Sec 1, cl. 2), on the day which may be determined by Congress (Article II, Sec. 1, cl. 3). Congress has determined in Federal law that the “electors of President and Vice President shall be appointed, in each State“ on Election Day, that is, the “Tuesday next after the first Monday in November“ every fourth year.,Though on Election Day, voters cast their votes to presidential candidates, what they actually choose are presidential electors. The popular votes will determine which party will make up the Electoral College. Take Florida as an example; there are altogether 27 electoral votes. If the Republican candidate (Bush) wins more popular votes than the Democratic candidate (Gore), then the 27 persons making up the Electoral College are from the Republic.,. The fourth stage:,Although the result is already known, the electors still meet in their state capitals and cast their votes for President and Vice President on the 1st Mon. after the 2nd Wed. in Dec. They vote very strictly. The Democratic electors vote for the Democratic presidential candidates and the Republican electors vote for the Republican ones. When the new congress assembled on Jan.6, the electoral votes are formally counted in a joint session of the two houses and the President of the Senate announces the “state of the vote“. Then the fourth stage comes to its end.,What if no one wins the Majority of electoral votes?,If no candidate wins a majority of electors in the electoral college (i.e., 51 percent or 270 electoral votes), then the election of the president goes to the House of Representatives, where each state casts one vote, determined by the state's representatives, among the five highest-ranking candidates, and the election of the vice president goes to the Senate, where every member casts one vote for one of the two highest-ranking candidates.,* If the House of Representatives fails to elect a president by majority vote before the president's scheduled inauguration on January 20, then the vice president-elect “shall act as President until a president shall have qualified“ (Twentieth Amendment).,The president-elect is sworn in on January 20.,上万人抗议布什就职 有人抬棺有人烧国旗,克里在波士顿 演讲承认失败,The last moment of the election is worth mentioning. When the result turns out, the candidate who has lost the election will first give his congratulations to the winner on the phone, then he will give public speech to acknowledge his lose，and comfort his supporters.,克里打电话 给布什认输,This way of dealing the lose is the reflection of the maturity of the institution of democracy. It is very important, playing the role of effective social regulation。It calms down those disappointed and furious people, prevents the violent outburst of their grief and indignation,and ensures the peaceful ending of the general election.,Comment- The merit of American presidential election system:,American presidential election is a national activity. The Constitution gives every American the right to vote as long as he or she reaches the age of eighteen. Therefore, everyone is concerned with, and directly involved in the election. It reflects the American democracy.,Compared with Chinese election, American is more democratic. As we all know, only a certain part of Chinese people are involved in the election. Most people, especially people in rural or remote areas, know nothing about the election. Though in China, there are representatives who represent the willing of majorities, the voice of common people are not headed. But we must admit that thing are quite different in America, who has done better in this aspect.,The flaws of American Presidential election,Who runs for President? Though everyone is believed to have an equal chance to succeed in the US, most people have little chance of being president. Most candidates for president are, in fact, senators or governors. For most people, they are unknown to the public, they do not have the financial resources or contacts to raise the money needed for a national campaign, and they have jobs they could not leave to run a serious campaign,Money used in the election,Statistics show that Lincoln spent only 100,000 $ in his election; in 1988, the cost of presidential election was 2.7 billion; in 2004 the electoral cost was as high as over 4 billion US dollars. Thus, we can see that money largely determines the process and the results of the election.,Without exception, in every election since 1976, the candidate who has raised the most money by the end of the year preceding the election, and who has been eligible for federal matching funds, has become his party's nominee for president. More and more funds invested in the election shows that American democracy has become “dollar democracy“, a game of the rich people.,The conflicts between Constitution and democracy shows that the democracy in The US is not complete,The indirect election and the “Winner-take-all“ principle cannot reflect voters' political wishes. It cannot avoid the phenomenon that some candidate can be elected though he wins fewer popular votes.,It enables the willing of a few people to override that of the majority. In a democratic country, it enables a few to determine the majority. It exposes the flaws of American democracy. And we cannot avoid such question as to what extend the Constitution is democratic?,As a result, more and more American people lose their interests in presidential election. Turnouts in presidential elections slowly declined. The US voting rate is lower than that of other countries. Statistics show that the highest presidential voting rate in the 19th century was 80% while the lowest was 65%. However, in the 20th century, the highest voting rate was only 60% and the lowest was 50%.,In 2000, the voting rate was slightly over 50%, and George W Bush got less than 50 million popular votes, only taking up one fourth of the eligible voters. Thus, the Americanized democracy can never represent the wishes of the majority people, let alone those of all the American people.,