00:00I, Gerald R. Ford, do solemnly swear.
00:03I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear.
00:05I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear.
00:09I, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., do solemnly swear
00:12that I will faithfully execute
00:14the office of President of the United States.
00:16Trump! Trump! Trump!
00:18USA! USA!
00:20That is a war that's dying to be settled.
00:23I will get it settled before I even become President, if I win.
00:26This war would be over within 24 hours,
00:28because he would just give it up.
00:30The United States' presidential election process,
00:33a cornerstone of American democracy,
00:36has been a subject of intrigue and complexity
00:39since the nation's founding.
00:42Throughout the 59 elections,
00:44the system has delivered 46 presidents,
00:47each election bringing its own unique challenges and outcomes.
00:52Despite its significance,
00:54the intricacies of the U.S. electoral process
00:57still need to be clarified to many,
01:00both domestically and internationally.
01:04From the initial stages of party nomination
01:07to the final tally of electoral college,
01:10the journey to the White House is multifaceted
01:13and often misunderstood.
01:16In this video, we aim to provide a comprehensive breakdown
01:21of the entire electoral process.
01:24We will explore how the political parties select their candidates,
01:28examine the role of primary election and caucus,
01:31and also elucidate the function of electoral college
01:35in determining the ultimate victor
01:37of the United States' presidential election.
01:52To start with, let's break down this process into three big steps.
01:58First step is primaries and caucuses.
02:01Second step is national convention and election campaign.
02:05And the third step is general election and electoral college.
02:10Starting with the primaries and caucuses,
02:13these are kind of baby steps to become the primary.
02:18These are kind of baby steps to become the president of United States
02:23and for that one needs to pass the eligibility criteria.
02:27Look, to become the president of United States,
02:30candidates must meet some specific legal requirements.
02:35These include being a natural-born U.S. citizen residing for U.S.
02:40for at least 14 years and being at least 35 years old.
02:46Natural-born citizenship applies to individuals also born in United States,
02:50children of U.S. citizens born abroad,
02:52and those born overseas with one citizen parent.
02:56In American history, while many have attempted to run independent
03:01as the presidential candidate,
03:03two parties have consistently dominated the electoral campaign,
03:08the Democrats and the Republican Party,
03:10which is also known as the Grand Old Party.
03:13Most of the presidential candidates have emerged from these two parties only,
03:18sharing broad ideological similarities,
03:20but differing on specific policy approaches.
03:24The path to presidency begins with candidates announcing their intent to run.
03:29They then embark on extensive campaign across the 50 states and Washington, D.C.,
03:35engaging in rallies, communicative interaction,
03:39and also meeting with the local party leaders and party supporters.
03:43This process allows the candidates to build their base
03:46and then articulate their vision for the country.
03:49The campaign strategies also frequently involve
03:53critiquing opponents' policies inside the party and also their character.
03:57A recent example for this political sparring occurred within the Republican Party
04:02where the candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy,
04:04publicly criticized Nikki Haley's stance on the Ukraine war,
04:08going to as far to equate her name with corruption.
04:13During a Republican Party primary debate,
04:16once the campaign ends, each state then announces its path to elect the leader.
04:21Most of the states hold primaries for 6-9 months before the presidential election.
04:26The primary voters choose their preferred candidate anonymously by casting secret ballots.
04:32The state where the primary is held
04:35takes the result of the vote into account to award the delegate to the winner.
04:40Parties often set the target for this too.
04:44Like for the Republicans, it's 1,215 delegates to win the nomination.
04:50Donald Trump in 2024 has got 2,243 delegates for this.
04:56Whereas in Democrats, this time it was actually a virtual call vote
05:01with all backing Biden and then Biden himself endorsing Kamala Harris for the presidency.
05:11Simply put, the state delegates then attend National Convention RNC
05:15that is the Republican National Convention or DNC,
05:18the Democratic National Convention to confirm their chosen candidates.
05:22Each party officially announces its presidential nominee at the convention's end.
05:29If no candidate secures a majority of delegates during the primaries and caucuses,
05:33the convention delegates then gather together and elect a nominee through additional voting rounds.
05:40At the convention, the presidential candidate then chooses a vice-presidential running mate.
05:45As Donald Trump elected J.D. Vance this time
05:48and Kamala Harris elected Tim Walz for the vice-presidential role.
05:53Following the convention, the presidential candidate campaigned nationwide to gain public support.
05:58These conventions are usually a stage to show the unity within the party
06:04and also charge the supporters ahead of the crucial voting session.
06:08This process also ensures that each party has selected the strongest candidate for the general election.
06:15The conventions unite party behind their nominees and present a unified message to the voters.
06:22The vice-presidential selection is also a strategic decision
06:25offering to aim and strike a balance within the broader electoral appeal.
06:30And then comes the next part that is campaign mode
06:34which resumes when both candidates along with their VP pick
06:38goes city to city for rallies, interviews and also whole debate
06:42to prove who is more fit to lead the United States.
06:46And then comes the last and the most important part
06:53Now here as we stated before it is the most important part that is the election day.
06:58The culmination of this year-long presidential campaign process
07:02has now come to the election day that normally happens on the first Tuesday of November.
07:09Voters across the nation cast ballots for their preferred president and vice-president.
07:15While the major party candidates are always on the ballot
07:20minor party and independent candidates may also appear
07:24if they meet state-specific eligibility requirements.
07:28However, voters are not directly electing the president.
07:33Instead they are voting for electors a group of individuals
07:38that have pledged to support a specific candidate in the electoral college.
07:43Each state has its own state of electors for each candidate.
07:47Once the poll closes votes are then begin to be tallied
07:52but the process doesn't end here.
07:54The electoral college system then comes into motion
07:58adding another layer of the selection criteria for the presidency.
08:03The US presidential candidate is elected by the electoral college and not direct popular vote.
08:10Here's how it works.
08:12Each state is allocated a number of electors based on its congressional representation.
08:18There are total 538 electors in total and as mentioned before
08:23when citizens cast their vote they are actually choosing electors
08:27pledged to their preferred candidate.
08:30The electors then cast the vote for the president.
08:34Then to win the presidency a candidate also needs a majority of the electoral votes
08:40that is at least 270 out of the 538.
08:44A candidate can win the presidency by securing the majority of electoral votes
08:49even if they don't win the national popular vote.
08:52Like if one remembers Hillary Clinton got the most popular vote in 2016
08:58but the electoral college made Donald Trump the president.
09:02This unique process balances the state and the population based representation
09:08in selecting the president sometimes producing unexpected results
09:12from that differing from the national popular vote total.
09:15Sometimes the process also takes days to count the final tally of the votes.
09:20The half a mark of 270 is needed to secure the presidency in electoral college.
09:25Once the candidate crosses the electoral college mark he is declared president elect
09:31and then the congress certifies the leader for presidency.
09:35And at last the oath ceremony takes place and here we are
09:40you have a new in charge of the great superpower.
09:44This is indeed a very interesting electoral process
09:48from the early days of primaries to the caucuses and then to the final tally in the electoral college.
09:53Each step indeed plays a crucial role in shaping the nation's future.
09:58The system while sometimes controversial reflects America's unique blend of federal and state powers
10:05and it also ensures all the voices across the nation from diverse communities
10:10are heard in this selection process to the highest office.
10:14Now as we look in the future of this election it's clear that understanding this process
10:20is vital for every American citizen.
10:22Whether you are a first time voter or a seasoned politician or a political observer
10:28the presidential election remains a cornerstone of American democracy
10:33a testament to endure principles of representation and popular sovereignty.
10:38So do vote on 5th of November when this crucial moment arrives in your life.
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