HOW T

O BECOME

PRESID

ENT OF

THE U

NITED

STATE

S

THE R

OAD TO T

HE WHIT

E HOUSE

WHAT ARE FIVE THINGS YOU WOULD LOOK FOR IN A PRESIDENT?

What else

would be important to you?

WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION SAY ABOUT WHO CAN BE PRESIDENT?

The President must be:

Do you agree with the Constitutional qualifications?

STEP 1

:

PRIMARIE

S AND

CAUCUSES

HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

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What are the two main political parties in the United States today?

There are many people

who have their own

ideas about how

government should work.

People with similar ideas group together

and form political parties…

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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Candidates from each party campaign to gain leadership

within their own party.

Multiple people from each party may decide they want to be the

candidate. This is where primaries and

caucuses come in.

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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESMost states hold

a primary, in which voters cast secret ballots for

the best candidate that

will represent the party in the

general election. Click HERE to read more about

primaries.

This is where voters can cast their vote to determine who will

represent each party.

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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESIn some states, a caucus is held

to select the best candidate from each party

through discussions and

open votes. Click HERE to read more about caucuses. Which states hold

caucuses?Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North

Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa

STEP 2

:

NATIONAL

CONVENTI

ON

S

Now it’s time to officially decide who will be the Presidential and Vice Presidential

candidate for each party.

STEP

2N

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on

ven

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s

HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Each party holds a national convention to select a final

presidential nominee.

Photo from: http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/08/30/151014951_480x360.jpg

Photo from: http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/09/06/151392934_480x360.jpg

STEP

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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESAt the convention, the Presidential

candidate announces a running mate (Vice Presidential

Candidate).

Photo from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/files/2012/08/wonk0831.jpg

Photo from: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/09/07/bidenobama-fdc1cd7ef8ae88d3fffb9cae1f3fb6c1e8977604-s3.jpg

What do you think a Presidential candidate is

looking for in a Vice President?

STEP 3

:

CAMPA

IGNS

HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

STEP

3C

am

paig

nin

g

The Presidential candidates campaign throughout the country to win the support of the general

population.

What do you think about the campaign ads you have seen?

STEP 4

:

GENER

AL

ELEC

TION

STEP

4G

en

era

l Ele

cti

on

HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

People in every state across the country vote for a

President and Vice President.

When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a

group of people known as electors who are part of the process called the Electoral

College .What is the Electoral College?

Who are electors?

STEP 5

:

ELEC

TORAL

COLLEG

E

STEP

5Ele

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olleg

e

HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

In the Electoral College system,

each state gets a certain number of electors based on

its representation in Congress.

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGEThe Electoral College is a system where 538 electors cast votes to decide who will be the President and Vice President.

Why 29?

Why 538?

This is the total of the members of the U.S. House of

Representatives, the U.S. Senate,

and three votes for the District of Columbia.

In Florida, electors are nominated by their political party and approved by the Governor. Because Florida has 29 electoral votes, each party (Democrat and Republican) is allowed to appoint 29 electors.

435* + 100 + 3 = 538

Florida has 27 Congressional Districts (FL gained two

districts due to a population increase) and 2

Senators….for a total of 29.

Public Law 62-5 says that 435 will be the number in the House of Representatives. This number does not change, rather other states lose

seats as states gain seats in the House.

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGEWhichever candidate receives the popular (majority) vote in a state (>50%), wins the

electoral votes.

Candidate A Candidate B

For example, in Florida:

29 Electors 29 Electors

If candidate B wins more than 50% of the popular vote, their 29 electors get to cast their votes for that Candidate.

Candidate A loses the race for that state.

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HOW TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Each elector casts one vote following the general election,

and the candidate who gets more than half (270 of 538) wins.

Florida has 29

electoral votes.

AND THE

WIN

NER IS

…The newly elected

President and Vice President

are inaugurated (sworn into

office) in January.

Note: Inauguration Day by law is January 20th. However, since the 20th is a Sunday, a private ceremony will be held on January 20th, with a public inauguration taking place on January 21st,

WHAT

DO

YOU

THIN

K?

Comparing Electoral College models: Which is better?

WHICH MODEL IS BETTER?

WINNER TAKE ALL

• More than 50% of the popular vote wins ALL of the elector votes

• 48 of the states use this system

THE DISTRICT SYSTEM • One electoral vote is

awarded to each candidate winning the popular vote in each congressional district *

• The two remaining votes are awarded to the candidates with the most votes statewide

• Maine and Nebraska use this system

*Remember, the number of electors are based on the number of members

in the United States House of Representatives (who represent

congressional districts within a state)…

… and two U.S. Senators.

SOURCES

http://magazines.scholastic.com/Election-2012/faqs-primary

http://kids.usa.gov/president/index.shtml

http://www.factcheck.org/2008/04/caucus-vs-primary/