Understanding the US presidential elections

Fanny Trifilieff: What is the suffrage system in the United States, and how was it conceived?

Marthe Fatin-Rouge Stefanini: Historically, the President of the United States has been elected by indirect universal suffrage through the designation of electors. These complex election procedures are primarily a response to the original mistrust expressed by the states towards federal power, which implied that elected officials had to be appointed by the member states. They also reflected a fear of the popular vote, deemed by Alexander Hamilton to be a source of tumult and disorder. Finally, the principle of the rigid separation of the three powers (executive, legislative and judicial) explains why it is not Congress (legislative power) that appoints the President. Election by indirect universal suffrage also meant that the President was not placed on the same footing as the representatives (of the House of Representatives), elected by direct universal suffrage every two years. It was intended to give greater legitimacy to the representatives of each state. The 50 states therefore play a predominant role in the American federal system, since it is by state that the election of the electors, central to the presidential election, is carried out.

F.T: How are the electors chosen and what is their role?

M. F-R S: The electors to be elected in the November ballot are chosen by the various political parties and are generally activists or well-known personalities. There are 538 of them, distributed by state according to the number of senators (2 per state) and representatives each state has. The number of representatives is proportional to population, so the larger states play a decisive role. There can be no fewer than three electors in each state.

The electors must not hold a current electoral mandate, and their sole function is to form the Electoral College that appoints the President and Vice-President of the United States in December. They vote separately in each state, and therefore never meet.

F.T: How do the elections work?

M. F-R S: Every four years, on the first Tuesday in November, U.S. citizens are called to the polls to elect their electors. Regardless of the type of election, electoral rules are defined at state level. In 48 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the first-past-the-post system applies, meaning that the leading candidate (Democrat or Republican) wins all the seats at stake. The only exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which have opted for a system of representation by district combined with a winner-take-all bonus: one elector is appointed per district, and two additional seats go to the candidate with the most votes in the state. After the electors vote in December, Congress counts the votes and officially appoints the President in early January. Finally, on January 20, Inauguration Day is held, when the president-elect and vice-president take the oath of office.