Behind the Scenes with the US Presidential Elections
A democratic country often exercises the right to suffrage in choosing the leader that would lead the nation. This is usually exercised in the form of presidential elections. The origin of elections can be traced back as early as the ancient times in Greece and Rome. The main purpose of elections at that time was to select positions for the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. It was not until the 17th century that this has been integrated in democracy to choose their representatives in the government. This then has been the practice of democratic countries. Among these democratic countries is the United States of America. Every four years, they exercise their right to vote and choose their country’s next top leader. Thus, they hold their presidential elections.
Their presidential election process is not as similar as with other countries. They conduct separate elections through popular votes in different states and another through the US Electoral College. During the election day of the popular vote, the citizens choose a presidential ballot that consists of the slate of electors of a candidate. These electors chosen have vowed to choose a particular presidential candidate in the Electoral College. Thus, the popular votes indirectly choose the Presidential candidate through the electors, the ones who have the power to vote directly for their pledged Presidential candidate. The electors are chosen by the legislature in each state except of Maine and Nebraska whose two electors are selected by the popular vote. In contrast with the different states that are represented, U.S. territories do not have any representation in the US Electoral College.
In case that the electors do not vote on their pledged candidate, some states have laws that penalize those types of electors or otherwise known as the “faithless electors”. The presidential candidate that obtains the majority of votes or more than 50% wins the presidential elections. If, however, no presidential candidate obtains the majority vote, the rules of the 12th Amendment took over which states that the decision is passed to the House of Representatives, who select the presidential candidate also through voting. Each state in the House of Representatives is given a single vote.
Notably, the United States of America has two party-lists, which are the Democrats and the Republicans. The presidential candidate of the Republicans last 2008 was Senator John McCain, who had Sarah Pallin, an Alaskan Governor, as his running mate. The Democrats, on the other hand, endorsed former Senator Barack Obama, who chose Senator Joe Biden as his vice-presidential candidate. The elections' results of 2008 were released and the people of America have spoken with Barack Obama as their president, and the first African-American to have taken the post. This was a remarkable event in the United States of America’s history.
After the presidential elections, reviews have been released on the triumph of Obama and the contributing factors that led to his winning. One very main contributor was his performance on debates and the body language that he projected. It was pointed out that in comparison to Obama, McCain’s gestures were perceived as unwelcoming. It was also noted that the stand of Obama on different issues that plagues the US nation brought him closer to the America’s heart.
Other significant aspects of the 2008 US Presidential election were the participation of the young population in the presidential campaign. Different young volunteers helped in the campaign and raised funds, particularly for Obama, whose majority of voters was under the age of thirty. Their immense efforts to tracing voters who have not voted, particularly in the black society, paid off.
Another powerful tool that Obama used was the internet. His website and other forms of a campaign such as the blogs, internet tools to obtain donation, online updates, and text and call brigades could facilitate in his victory. The different types of media also constantly provided updates on the elections.
After the buzzle of the 2008 US presidential elections, one very noteworthy gesture was when John McCain graciously accepted defeat and congratulated the new president. Aside from that, he also gave his support to Obama, an incident that is seldom witnessed in other countries.