According to the constitution of the
The constitution says that members of the
House of Representatives are elected by popular vote for two years. The country
is divided into congressional districts with one representative from each
district. The terms of all Representatives cover the same period.
Representatives must meet the following requirements: be at least 25 year old;
be a
Senators are elected by popular vote for 6
years, every 2 years 1/3 of them stands for reelection. Each state has 2
Senators, who must be at least 30 years old, citizens of the
The president is elected for 4 years of
service and may be reelected for 4 additional years. He must be a native-born
citizen, at least 35 years old and a resident of the
The presidential election consists of
several stages. The first one is the primary election for the choice of state
delegates to a national party convention and the expression of preference for
presidential nominees. This stage does not take place in all states, but those
which hold it do it February or in March. The leading parties of each state
have separate primary elections. The second stage, National party conventions,
takes place in July or August. Each party chooses one candidate from several
presidential nominees and works out the national party program for the election
campaign. The third stage is on the 1-st Tuesday after the 1-st Monday in
November. On that day citizens come to polls and vote for president and
vice-president. But legally, this stage is for choosing the members of the
Electoral College. The fourth stage, election of the president by the Electoral
College, takes place on the 1-st Monday after 2-nd Wednesday in December. The
fifth stage is a joint session of Congress to open the ballots. It is held on
January 6. Inauguration of the president, the sixth stage, takes place on
January 6 in
The date of the national presidential
election is fixed by law – every 4 years, on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November. Under the constitution, the November election is not for
presidential candidates themselves but for electors, who subsequently choose a
president. American president and vice-president are elected by the Electoral College.
At present the Electoral College consists of 538 persons – 435 corresponding to
the number of Representatives, 100 corresponding to the number of Senators and
3 for the