Federal elections.

According to the constitution of the USA, all citizens of both sexes over 18 years of age have the right to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1970 sets 30-day residence as the only precondition to voting in federal elections, the most important of which are congressional and presidential elections. They are held in even-numbered years.

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 US citizen for 7 years; live in the state from which they are elected.

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 USA for 9 years and residents of the state from which they are elected.

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 USA for at least 14 years.

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 Washington D.C.

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 District of Columbia. In each state these electors are nominated and voted for by the respective parties. In some states electors are nominated at the party conventions. The parties make these electors morally bound to support party candidates. If a candidate wins a state, no matter by how small a margin, he picks up all its electoral votes. The College convenes for balloting on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December in the state capitals. After balloting the electors send lists of their votes by registered mail to the president of the Senate in Washington D.C. with duplicate copies to the General Services Administrator and the local US district court. The votes sent to Washington D.C., are counted in Congress in the presence of both houses on January 6. To become president a candidate must receive at least 270 votes. If no candidate wins the majority, the president has to be elected by the House of Representatives. In this case each state has 1 vote and the candidate has to get 26 favorable votes. The final stage of the presidential election –inauguration- takes place in Washington D.C.  at noon on January 20.