The great American (political) Circus.
The upcoming 2020 elections for the President of the United States of America seems to have caught the wild imagination of Indians across the world, with many believing that a Indian-American woman has been elected as the Vice-President of USA. Indians seem to have this rather pitiful habit of co-opting the success of others, based purely on that person’s connection to our great heritage.
There are two points that we, in India; have to understand and accept. The first is that the President and Vice-President of USA are elected solely by the citizens of their country; and secondly, that the process of election for these top positions is complex, with the “electoral college votes”deciding the winners and not necessarily the “popular votes”- which are the votes cast by voters directly in favor of either candidates.
The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who cast votes to decide the President and Vice-President. When voters cast their votes, they will choose which candidate receives the support of their state’s electors. The number 538 is the total sum of USA’s 435 Representatives, 100 Senators and 3 electors of the District of Columbia (the capital of USA). The candidate who receives the majority of the electoral votes (270 or more) wins. In all but two states, the candidate who wins the majority of the popular votes in a state wins that state’s electoral votes. However, in the states of Nebraska and Maine, electoral votes are assigned by ‘proportional representation’, meaning that the candidate who wins the most votes in these states wins two electoral votes (due to the two senators) while the remaining electoral votes are allocated congressional district-by-congressional district, thereby making it possible for both candidates to receive electoral votes from Nebraska and Maine, unlike the winner-takes-it-all system in the other 48 states.
Electors are usually state-elected officials, party leaders, or individuals with strong affiliation to the Presidential candidates. In some states; political parties nominate electors at their state conventions, or by a vote of the party’s central committee. Interestingly, neither the U.S. Constitution nor their election laws compel electors to vote for their party’s candidate. However, 27 states have laws that require electors to vote for their party’s candidate IF that candidate get a majority of the state’s popular vote. In the other 24 states, there is no such law that’s applicable, but the common practice is for electors to vote for their own party’s nominee. If neither candidate gets a majority of electoral votes, the election process goes to the U.S. House of Representatives for electing the President of the United States, with each state casting one vote. Whoever wins the majority of states wins the election. In an identical process, the Vice-President is elected by the U.S. Senate.
Many factors influence the voter turnout as well as voter support for the contesting candidates. Since the elections are held in November, the winter weather affects voter turnout. Those who do brave the chill of a particularly bad winter would then cast their vote based on any or all of the following factors; religious beliefs and its effects of freedom of individual actions (e.g. rights of abortion / or lack of enough rights), social beliefs (e.g. acceptance of homo-sexual marriages), the strength / weakness of the economy, and the perceptions of rights of minorities (African-origin blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc), to name a few. Most Americans vote more on the basis of religious-social beliefs and state of the economy, rather than the ethnicity of the candidates.
Given all of the above and other factors not mentioned herein due to their variables and complexities, its best to leave the U.S. elections to the voters of that country and just enjoy the drama as it unfolds. In essence, “leave unto the Americans that which belongs solely to them”.
Originally published in RITAM app.. with Thanks .
