• The United States is on the cusp of a historic Presidential election as Republican leader Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris criss-crossed key battleground states and delivered closing remarks ahead of the election day, capping months of intense campaigning.

• The election is being billed as historic as it has been one of the tightest Presidential races in the last several decades.

• If Harris wins the race, history will be made as she will become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of Indian-origin to become the US President.

• Harris has been projecting the election as the one to protect the country’s fundamental freedoms, safeguard constitutional values and ensure women’s rights.

• In his rallies, former President Trump has been promising to rebuild the economy and rid the US from illegal immigrants. 

• The Republican Vice Presidential candidate is J.D. Vance. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is the running mate for Harris.

US Presidential election process

• Every four years, US citizens vote for President and Vice President during the general election.

The US Constitution states that the President must:

i) Be a natural-born citizen of the US.

ii) Be at least 35 years old.

iii) Have been a resident of the US for 14 years.

• Anyone who meets these requirements can declare their candidacy for President.

• Candidates from the two main political parties the Democrats and the Republicans begin their campaign trails a year before the election day. They set up their team and start going on tour around the country to rally for support and to fundraise for their campaigns.

• Major political parties nominate Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates at their party’s national convention. The candidates’ names will be listed on the general election ballot. 

• Candidates from minor political parties and independent candidates might not have a national convention. But they may be on the ballot, on a state-by-state basis, if they meet the eligibility requirements. 

Voting in the Presidential election

• People in every state across the country vote for one President and Vice President. When Americans go to the polls, they will select their favourite Presidential candidate and their running mate.

• When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors. Except in the states of Maine and Nebraska, if a candidate receives the majority of the votes from the people of a state then the candidate will receive all electoral votes of that state.

• The US has 50 states and most of them vote for the same party in every election except the swing states. Based on the volume of population, the states are assigned electoral college votes.

• Overall a total of 538 electoral college votes are up for grabs. A candidate with 270 or more electoral votes is declared winner in the election.

What is the US Electoral College?

• The winner of the US presidential election is determined not by the popular vote but through a system called the Electoral College, which is mandated in the Constitution and allots ‘electoral votes’ to states and the District of Columbia based on their congressional representation.

• The Electoral College was the product of compromise during the drafting of the Constitution between those who favoured electing the president by popular vote and those who opposed giving the people the power to directly choose their leader. Technically, Americans are casting votes for those slates of electors, not the candidates themselves. 

• However, the term ‘Electoral College’ does not appear in the US Constitution. Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to ‘electors’, but not to the ‘Electoral College’.

• Electoral votes are allocated among the states based on the Census. Every state is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of senators and representatives in its US Congressional delegation — two votes for its senators in the US Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts.

• These electors are typically party loyalists who have pledged to support the candidate who got the most votes in their state.

• There are 538 electoral votes, meaning 270 are needed to win the election. Electors sign certificates showing their votes, which are sent to government officials, including the Vice President. Those certificates are paired with ones signed by Governors showing the popular vote tallies.

• The newly elected President and Vice President are inaugurated in January.

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