Elections:
for Better or Worse?
Case in point: the USA
by Rit NosotroChange Over Time essay
Have shifts in the election process been better or worse for nations?
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Summary:
The first president of the United States of America was George Washington. Some things though haven’t changed from when the first US presidential election was held back in 1789 until now. Once elected, the president and vice president serve a four-year term with a maximum of two terms. One must be thirty-five years old, a native born citizen of the United States, and a citizen for at least 14 years.
In the USA, each party chooses his candidate in his own special way. Most states use a primary election, though Iowa uses a caucus. A primary election is one in which a political party chooses its candidate for a later election. In a primary election, one may only vote for a candidate for the party in which one is registered. In the Iowa caucuses, people instead of going to a polling location, usually meet at one of 2,000 of Iowa’s precincts. Like primaries, presidential caucuses are held every four years and are held at polling places, usually at church, library, or school. Each party in Iowa holds its caucus differently. Republican caucuses have each person use a secret ballot; each person puts his/her selection in a hat. The results then are counted and reported to the media and a delegate is then chosen.
The democrats in Iowa are believed to have a more complicated form of choosing their candidate. People that are voting for a certain candidate gather into little groups and then the candidate that they prefer becomes public knowledge. Then for about half of an hour people try to convince others around them that their candidate is the best and he/she deserves your vote. After 30 minutes this process is temporarily stopped and each candidates votes are counted. The supporters of a candidate who does not have enough supporters to be existent must either find another candidate to support or cease altogether. In order to receive any delegates from a certain precinct a candidate must receive at least 15% of all of the votes from that precinct. After this point, the people have 30 minutes to choose one of the remaining candidates or they may abstain. Once all of the voting is done, a head count is conducted.
Over time, from the first presidential election up to now, the election process has not changed all that much, but the campaign process has changed drastically. Back in Abraham Lincoln’s day, when a president was running for office he would tour the country often either walking or taking a train. A candidate would often stop in a town and stay with some of the residents for a few days to a week. Candidates would often also help the people with chores and or farm work, in order to show the people they really cared about them and that they were concerned about the people’s needs.
Today, Presidential campaigns are completely different. The candidate often has thousands of people working on his campaign and they usually raise millions of dollars for the candidates “war chest”. The “war chest” is funds that the candidate has raised for his campaign and if they don’t end up using all of the raised funds, the candidate is allowed to keep all the money and is not forced to give it back. In conclusion I think that the presidential elections have greatly changed over time but still, after every election we have the same result: a president chosen by the people and for the people.
Quick Quiz:
1. The only state in the Union that uses caucuses is---
A. Texas
B. Ohio
C. Iowa
D. Mississippi
2. In order to be eligible for US president you must be at least ? years old
and have been a citizen of the US for ? years
A. 21, 5
B. 18, 10
C. no requirements
D. 35, 14
3. The money a presidential candidate raises for his campaign is called what
A. Campaign Finance
B. War Chest
C. Money Trail
D. My own stash
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