In 2015, Canada held a federal election that was the longest in our nation’s modern history, it ran for 78 days, and was considered an absolute marathon. In comparison, the United States’ presidential elections take about a year and a half, from start to finish. How can that be, you ask? Well, unlike in Canada where the party selects its leader to run for the office of the prime minister, the United States has a preliminary election, known as the primaries, where states vote on who they want to lead his/her respective party. But before we go any further, let’s take a step back.

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Let's imagine that you, yes you, want to be the president. First things first, you must be at least a 35 year-old American citizen who has lived in the country for the last 14 years, thus fulfiliing the only requirements for running for the office. Furthermore, you likely need some semblance of a career or political background (although lately this doesn't seem to be much of the case). 

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What you'll probably need more than anything to run is money. The presidency is big league politics, where hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on campagin staff, flights, television ads, posters, websites etc. So fundraising is key. You need big donors--the corporate elite in most cases--to fund your campaign, to graciously donate a fraction of their immense wealth to your political cause. This may seem odd to a Canadian, but the United States is the Wild West of campaign fundraising (for further reading on corporate campaign spending, research "Citizens United"). So, so far you need to be an American that has access to big cashola. Moving on.

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The next thing you must do is announce your candidacy for the office of the President, and for what party (unless you run as an independent) you plan to run for. The number of candidates per party fluctuates, and there is no set number. In fact, the Republicans had everybody and their cousin decide to run in the latest election. Well, almost. 

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Here's where things get confusing. So let's say you decided to run as a Democrat, and so did three other people, you now need to run an election to get nominated to run in the general election (i.e. the final election in November). Now we have an election for an election. "Can't these people just have a f***ing election already?" is what you might be thinking. Do you see now why it takes an eternity to elect a President. But let's start from the beginning.

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Primaries and Caucases

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In the United States, the political system is  sometimes set up so people vote for other people to vote for who they want to vote for... Does that make sense? Well, let me explain. In order for a person to win the nomination of his/her party (Republican or Democrat), they don't get chosen based on popular vote. Delegates--people who pledge to vote for a candidate based on the votes, or will, of the voters--decide who will receive the nomination. In order to win your party's nomination, you must receive a majority of the delegates. 

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Delegates give their support to candidates after state primaries or caucases. Each state has a varying number of delegates, depending on population, who represent the voters of their state, and come together at their party's national convention to formally choose the nominee. But since things aren't confusing enough, each party differentiates how they distribute delegates to candidates, and the way in which they choose to distribute them. 

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Democratic primaries distribute delegates proportionally based on the candidates percentage of votes in the state. For example, Arkansas has 32 delegates. So let's say that I win 75% of the vote, and John Smith wins 25%. I would receive 24 delegates, and John would win eight. 

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On the Republican side, however, they sometimes mix-in a winner-take-all approach, meaing that if you get the most votes, not even needing a majoriy, you take all the states' delegates. 

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Here's a video to help explain primaries and caucases.

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  Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XeELfd-xgo

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On the Democratic side you need to win 2,382 delegates, the majority, to win the nomination. On the Republican side, with fewer delegates, you need to win 1,237 to take the nomination.

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So, once you've gained enough delegates during the primary, you move onto the general election! So, let's take a look at how that works.

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General Election

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The general election, or Presidential election, takes place every four years in November. The two person election, comprising of nominees from the Republican and Democratic parties, battle it out for the world's most powerful office. So, how does the election work? Well, first off, the President isn't decided based on who gets the most votes in the election. In fact, George W. Bush received fewer votes than Al Gore in 2000, but won (maybe...) the election. "How can this be?" you ask? Well, the presidential election is decided on the state level. In other words, you don't win the entire country and get elected, but instead win individual states.

 

When you win a state, you receive that states' electoral votes. In total, there are 538 electoral votes that are distributed to states based on population. For example, Califorina has 55 electoral votes, whereas Wyoming has 3. So the key in the general election is to win states, and with them their electoral votes, sort of like delegates in the primaries. In the general election, however, the winner of the state takes all the electoral votes--they are not awarded in proportion to votes. This system is known as the Electoral College. To win the presidency, you must receive the majority of the electoral votes, 270. Below is an interactive electoral map that allows you to play with election possibilites. 

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               Source: http://www.270towin.com/maps/crystal-ball-electoral-college-ratings

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Even if there is a close presidential race, as long as one candidate can edge out the other in key states, the final result can look like a landslide. Note that some states are almost guaranteed to vote for one party's candidate, so the election is decided mainly in swing states-- states that "swing" back and forth from one party to the next. Put it this way, a Republican won't win New York, but will always win Mississippi. So these electoral votes are almost predetermined, the balance of the election is held in states like Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvannia, and Colorado, where a candidate from either party has a chance at winning. 

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Come election time, the only number that matters is 270!

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