Who elects the President of the United States of America?
By Lindalinda
@Lindalinda (4111)
Canada
January 17, 2008 8:17am CST
I must confess I am a bit confused here. I live in Canada and watch American news channels everyday. Now that a presidential election is underway there are caucuses, primaries and then there is the Electoral College. Can someone shed some light on this complicated democratic process.
1 person likes this
3 responses
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
17 Jan 08
It's all a bunch of political manipulation & mumbo jumbo. Eventually each party choses which candidate their going to get behind. The people vote. Those votes are tallied & then turned in to their representatives in the electoral college who then do whatever the ^*&$ they feel like. In a day & age when they can easily count up the exact # of votes for each person I don't see why we still have the Electoral college. They can pretty much decide who is president without any consideration of the publics votes & without reprecussion.
Talk about a beurocratic mess....
1 person likes this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
19 Jan 08
The registered voters, which is we the people who live in the United States, vote for our president. We can vote for a Republican, Democrat or other.
How is it in Canada? My family and I have thought about moving there some day when my husband retires.
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
20 Jan 08
Thank you for your response. It is somewhat different in Canada. We don't have a president but a Governor General who is the representative of the Queen of England since technically we are still a constitutional monarchy. The Governor General has mostly ceremonial duties but also powers which he or she could use. For instance the Governor General is the head of the Armed Forces and is the only one who can dissolve Parliament if the governing party wants a new election. The Prime Minister holds the real powers but he or she must ask permission of the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call an election. People in Canada who are Canadian Citizens elect the members of Parliament in an election and the leader of the party that wins becomes Prime Minister. Right now we have a minority Government. We have a conservative party, a liberal party a new democratic party and several other minor parties. Immigrants to Canada are called residents until they apply for Canadian Citizenship after three years of permanent residency. After that they can vote in elections.
1 person likes this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
20 Jan 08
You are very welcome.
Wow. That is different.
Anyone who legally lives in the United States are called residents here.
I'm not really sure exactly how long they have to live here before they can vote. The laws change here to often.
Alot of people here have no health insurance because we cannot afford to pay for it.
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
21 Jan 08
That is alot better than what the U.S. provides for us. They are so concerned to help other countries and they don't make sure the ones who fight for this country are taken care of as well. I think we will definitely choose Canada when my husband retires. Thanks alot for the information.
@KevinIX (47)
• United States
17 Jan 08
Yeah, it is somewhat confusing. What happens is that the president is chosen by the Electoral College. The caucuses and primaries are state-wide elections that determine who represents the Democrat and Republican parties. On election day, the popular vote is used to chose who will represent the Electoral College. Sometimes the ballots will simply say the name of the Presidential Candidate (instead of the Presidential Electors), but in reality you are still voting for the Elector, not the candidate. The Electors will vote for the candidate they represent during the electoral voting process.
I hope I'm not wrong, since that would make me a sad excuse for an American. T.T
