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Jacquelyn Rodriguez
Cindy Rodgers
English 12
October 12, 2015
Presidential race
What exactly is the Presidential race? What steps are taken in a presidential race? How
does one run in a Presidential race? These are a few examples of questions that an abundance of
American have. The presidential race can be a hard topic to understand at first. Lots of time is
consumed in a presidential race. Along with this, money is also excessively used when a
presidential race is taking place. All American citizens should have general knowledge on how a
presidential race takes place. The presidential race is a long process that consists of many steps,
involves an abundance of people, and ultimately further helps the United States of America elect
a president.
To understand what the presidential race is, one must know some general presidential
knowledge. First of all, the purpose of the presidential race is to elect a new president. This
occurs from various United States citizens running in the presidential campaign. The winner of
the presidential race is determined by the electoral votes. Prior to the electoral votes, lots of
previous steps need to be taken. First of all, the running candidates must choose what political
party they are running in. There are two main political parties. The first main political party is
the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is the more liberal. The second main political party
is the Republican Party. Unlike the Democratic Party, they are more conservative. Besides the
Democratic and Republican Party, there are also smaller parties such as the Green, Constitutions,

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and Reform Parties. Besides the Parties that the presidential candidates choose to run for, there
are also regulations on who can run in the residential race. To run in the presidential race, a
person must be at least thirty-five years old. Along with this, they must be a person that was
born in the United States and has been living in the United States for the last fourteen years.
Before the true presidential race begins, the candidates running must take a few years to prepare.
In preparation, the people running for president start to save money and prepare their campaign.
They decide which party they are running for and the points they will make to the American
citizens. Overall, a person must choose a party, meet the requirements, and prepare to run in the
presidential race.
The presidential race starts off with the presidential primary, caucuses, and conventions.
First of all, the presidential primary occurs. The purpose of the Presidential Primary is to narrow
down the candidates in each presidential party (Primer on Presidential Elections - 10 Facts).
This is when the various Political parties have various candidates. To choose a candidate in the
Presidential Primary, debates are held. The Political Parties candidates have debates and
discussions on pressing issues in the United States. They say where they stand on issues and
how they plan to resolve the issues. Along with participating in debates, the candidates
campaign on their own. They create slogans and start talking to the public. They use social
media and say speeches to make the American Citizens found of them. They purpose of these
are to choose the main candidate that will represent the Political Party in the presidential race. In
most states, at the end of a presidential primary, citizens of each state vote for who they wish to
be the presidential candidate for that particular state. Other states have caucuses in which
everyone gathers at local party meetings where they choose the presidential candidate they want
for the particular party. Once every state has voted, conventions are held. At these conventions,

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the candidate with the majority of the delegates votes become the person the represents the
political party in the presidential race. Also, the vice president runner is chosen at the
conventions (Polsby). The vice president is chosen by whoever is running for president in each
Political Party.
After these conventions are complete, the nation has a main person running for
presidents and vice president in every party. Now each candidate prepares further to run for
president. The candidates meet with their party to determine their partys platform. After this,
the person running for president works with his or her platform committee to start creating a
platform for the campaign. The party platforms determine what goals and strategies the party
will use during the presidential race. The partys platforms are broken into planks. Planks are
the subjects they will discuss and talk about. The political parties want strong platforms so that
most of the United States citizens will vote for their candidate that is running for president. Once
the platforms are made, the candidates start to travel around the United States to campaign and
speak to the American public about the wonderful improvements they will bring to the nation.
After the presidential candidates complete there campaigning process throughout the
United States, the final steps of the presidential race take place. Each candidate has made all of
their goals and dreams for the United States known. The next step is for the America public to
vote for their favorite candidate. Generally there are two candidates running. One of the
candidates is democratic while the other is republican. First the United States votes for the
presidents. Their votes are counted as popular votes. The voting takes place every four years on
the first Monday of November (Sobel). All across the United States of America, citizens vote of
the candidate that they want to become president. Each state individually counts up their popular

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votes. They see which candidate received the most popular votes. Once all the American
Citizens vote, the popular votes are counted and the presidential race continues.
The popular votes determine which state representatives will vote in the Electoral College
vote. The amount of Senators and House of representatives the state has determines how many
electoral votes each state gets (Polsby). The people voting in the electoral vote claim what
candidate they will be voting for in the Electoral College and this is how they are chosen. Some
states make the members of the Electoral College bind to the person they choose to vote for. On
the other hand, so states do not make their members of the Electoral College promise that they
are voting for the candidate they say they are voting for. The Electoral College has a total of
five-hundred and thirty eight members in it (Election Process). The political Parties choose who
will be members of the Electoral College at state conventions or by the partys central
committee. The Electoral College meets on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in
December. At this meeting, they vote for the president. The candidate that receives over fifty
percent of the votes becomes president.
The Presidential race is practically concluded. The votes are all in and the President of
the United States of America and the Vice President of The United States of America are
successfully chosen. The last step is to inaugurate the president into office. The Presidents
inaugurations always takes place on January twentieth. To be inaugurated, the Chief Justice of
The United States Suprema Court swears the President and Vice President into office. The
president takes the presidential vote. The presidential oath is, I do solemnly swear that I will
faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States (Presidents Swearing-In

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Ceremony). Once these step are completed, the old president is no longer president and the new
presidents presidency has begun.
The presidential race is a long process. It does not only take a year. Surprisingly like
takes a few ears for the candidates to prepare to run. The people that think about running must
have the brains to look after the whole United States of America. Along with this, they must be
healthy enough and have the funds to put on a proper campaign. A person participating in the
Presidential Race must be likable. They need the American Citizens to genuinely like them and
their ideas so that they will get the votes from the public. Also, candidates have to determine
what arty they will be running in. Will they be Democratic, Republican, or part of one of the
smaller political parties. The candidates start off the presidential race by creating slogans and try
to prove that they will be the best ruler for the nation. Debates are held within each political
party so that the general public can determine who they will vote for. Following this, the last
standing candidates travel around the United States meeting citizens. The presidential race has a
lot to do with convincing the public that you are an upstanding, smart person who will benefit the
nation. Following this the popular vote and the electoral votes take place. Then the new
president is inaugurated into office. The presidential race is a long process. Anyone involved is
highly busy for a few year. Everyone in the presidential race want to win because they are
spending an abundant amount of time and effort during the many months of the campaign. There
are very diverse peoples that run in presidential races. Some are former politicians. Others are
doctor or business people. Each candidate bring something different to the presidential race.
Each candidate has different views and opinions on every pressing issue in the nation. Likewise,
each citizens has various candidates they like or agree with. As of now the United States of
America is preparing to have the two-thousand sixteen presidential election. The caucuses and

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primaries are beginning to take place. There are still a good amount of candidate running. The
top runners for the Democratic Party are Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Popular runners for
the Republican Party are Donald trump and Carly Fiorina. In conclusion, the process of a
presidential race takes many months because of the excessive rules that are enforced,
preparations that occur, and various procedures that need take place.

(Morris)

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( Presidential Elections)

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Work Cited
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"Election Process - Electoral Votes - Elections the American Way- Classroom Presentation |
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the American Way- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress.
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Graham, David. "The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media
Company, 21 Sept. 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
Gutman, Dan. Election! A Kid's Guide to Picking Our President. Aladdin Paperbacks, 2000. 1128. Print.
Gutman, Dan. Landslide!: A Kid's Guide to the U.S. Elections. 2000 Ed. New York: Aladdin
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Lansford, Tom. Presidential Election Process. Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2007. 1-216. Print.
Morris-lipsman, Arlene. Presidential Races: The Battle for Power in the United States (People's
History). Minneapolis: Twenty First Century, 2011. 1-112. Print.

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Morris, David. "Presidential Campaign Spending." Institute for Local SelfReliance. Institute for
Local SelfReliance, 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
Polsby, Nelson. Presidential Elections: Strategies and Structures of American Politics. Thirteenth
ed. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1991. 1-352. Print.
"Presidential Election, 2016 - Ballotpedia." Presidential Election, 2016 - Ballotpedia. Web. 21
Sept. 2015.
"Presidential Election Facts." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
"Presidential Elections." Quest Garden. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
"Presidents Swearing-In Ceremony." The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural
Ceremonies. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
"Primer on Presidential Elections - 10 Facts." Youtube.com. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
Sobel, Syl, and Jill Wood. Presidential Elections and Other Cool Facts. Hauppauge: Barron's
Educational Series, 2000. Print.
"The Electoral College Facts of LIfe." Youtube.com. 2008. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
"U.S. Presidential Elections 1789-2012." Youtube.com. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

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