How to Explain Presidential Elections to Students
Presidential elections in the United States are complicated matters because they are more than just a popular election on a Tuesday in November. The political campaign for the presidency begins early and includes primary elections and the general election. Further, while there the popular vote count is used as an indicator of a candidate's popularity and electability, it is the electoral college that chooses the president. You can explain presidential elections to students by explaining each step of the process and the requirements to become president.
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Instructions
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State who is eligible to become the president of the United States. According to Article II of the Constitution of the United States, the only people who are eligible to be president are natural-born citizens who have lived in the United States for 14 years prior to the election and are at least 35 years old.
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Explain how candidates are chosen. You must state that prior to the general election, where the next president is elected, there is a primary election or caucus in each state in which a candidate from each political party is endorsed by the party. In either the primary or the caucus, delegates are chosen to attend the party's nominating convention. Further, note that some states have open primary elections where voters can choose to vote in either party's primary election on election day, while others have closed primary elections where voters only can vote for a candidate from the party in which they are registered. Also, some states, such as Iowa have a caucus where members of a political party will endorse the candidate. The candidate with the largest delegate support at the national convention is officially nominated by the party. How the delegates are allocated is left to the political parties because this is a function of the political parties. The Democratic Party allocates delegates for each candidate based upon the ratio of votes received or the by the caucus results. The Republican Party lets the state choose how to allocate delegates--in a "winner take all" fashion, where the candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote wins all of the delegates from that state or in proportion like the Democratic Party.
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Instruct the students about the popular vote in the general election. State that once the candidates are chosen, there is a general election every four years where the citizens of the United States elect the president. Also explain the concept of "one person, one vote" where all votes are counted equally.
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Explain the purpose and function of the electoral college. State that the electoral college includes electors from each state who choose the president. Inform the students that the number of electors from each state is based upon the number of representatives from the House of Representatives and senators from it. Further, you must tell the students that the way in which the electors are chosen varies depending on the process adopted by each state. It is necessary for the students to know that if the particular candidate wins the popular vote in a state, then she will also win the electors in that state, and some states are "winner take all" states, and others will provide a proportional amount of electoral votes that correspond with the popular vote.
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Tips & Warnings
The National Constitution Center, Scholastic, Education World and the National Writing Project provide lesson plans for teaching about elections.
