As the United States is considered as one of the most powerful countries around the world, all eyes are set on Trump vs. Biden polls. The very outcome of this election will have an impact on the whole world.
But you might be wondering about the procedure of these elections and how they are done. So, here is all you need to know about the US general elections of 2020.
Main Parties In The Election
The political setup and party system in the US is unlike any other country in the world. There are only two major parties which are considered by a majority of the voters. They are named Democrats and Republicans. Rest of the parties are usually not mentioned, and third party nominees also step forward occasionally.
The Progress So Far
The main purpose of the general elections is of course electing nominees for the new term of the government. But before this happens, presidential candidates run for nomination from either of the two major parties. This happens through primaries and caucuses.
Primaries are not regulated by the US law. Parties generally determine the rules themselves in combination with every state’s own laws.
Government of every state regulates and holds the primaries just like they hold the general elections. The votes can either be closed or open. Allowing either only the specific party members or any person to vote consecutively.
Winning in these primaries means winning the delegates, who then vote the party’s presidential nominee later on.
Caucuses
While most of the states have primaries, some also do caucuses. In states like Iowa, parties run the caucuses.
Caucuses do not involve any control by the state government, and parties have more control over the rules. For example, Democrats don’t do ballots in caucuses. Instead, they count the apology vote by having large groups of people standing in the rooms.
What Parties Hold The Primaries?
Well, as this might be certain, the party in power right now (the Republicans) are almost certain to nominate Donald Trump once again. That is why all eyes will be on the Democrat primaries and who they choose to be their next rival of Trump. There usually are multiple candidates running for a presidential nomination from the party of their choice.
As for the Republicans, they are also holding primaries, but there is no significant challenger to Trump in those.
Voting Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic
The pandemic has hit the US general elections 2020 hard. Many states have decided to delay the primaries and voting, while others are moving forward as if nothing has happened.
The states are giving a mixed reaction to the pandemic. Some states have delayed the voting up to August, while the others already have gathered the votes by following the set rules.
When the candidates are announced, they hold three to four debates face to face in the public before going into the election.
Winning In The General Election
Popular vote decides the winning candidate in general elections. The number of votes received by the candidates do not matter, as long as there is a difference between them.
Total number of electoral votes casted in the US elections are 538, out of which receiving a simple majority of 270 or more votes means a clear win for the candidate. When it comes to these votes and the electoral colleges, more populous states have more votes, so they are more important.
Usually, the candidates might win the popular vote, but lose in the electoral vote. This happened to Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The Electoral College
Each state has electors who vote for the presidential candidate on behalf of the state. Bugger states get more votes in this system.
A candidate can also win by getting a spread of votes from smaller states as compared to the bigger states.
Republican dominated states are shown as red states, and Democrat dominated states as blue. There are also swing states, which keep changing their hands depending on the candidates. These are the decisive states around which most of the campaigns are focused. If a state is dominated by another party, others might not even invest that much to win that state. Time to look at the Trump vs. Biden Virginia results.
