US Elections 2020: All you need to know about the process to elect American President

The United States is gearing up for the elections on November 3 as incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden appeared for their first of the three presidential debates in Cleveland. Citing unproven claims of election fraud due to postal voting, Trump has floated the idea to delay US elections but the power to delay the elections lies with the US Congress. The possibility of a delay would be highly unlikely as Democrats control House of Representatives.

The presidential elections are usually a straight choice between the candidates from the Democratic Party and the Republican Party and rarely a candidate from a third party enters the race. The party nominees are elected through primaries and caucuses held across the country and their names are formally announced during parties’ National Convention. 

Popular vote and Electoral vote

US citizens technically vote for “electors” and not the presidential candidates themselves, who subsequently elect the President. However, the electors, who are usually state officials or senior party leaders, are not named on the ballot. Each elector then cast vote for one of the two presidential candidates. It is important to note that a candidate can win the popular vote yet lose the electoral vote.

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All US states and Washington DC have a particular number of electors in the electoral college based on the size of the state, and each state gets at least three electoral votes. Maine and Nebraska use a winner-takes-all system which means a candidate winning the most votes in those states take its entire haul of electoral votes. There are a total of 538 electors and a candidate needs to win the majority of electors i.e. 270 to become US President. 

The US Consitution does not make it mandatory for the electors to follow the popular vote but several states have passed laws requiring them to do so. The US Supreme Court has also ruled that electors must follow the popular votes that have passed such a law. In 2016, Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton but won the electoral college.

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