The U.S Election... It's Finally Over!

The United States elects a new president every four years. The election is always held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November (between November 2nd and 8th.)

This year the election was held on Tuesday, November 6th.

There are two main political parties in the United States: the Republican Party (also known as the Grand Old Party or GOP) and the Democratic Party. States are often called red or blue, depending on how they vote. Red states are Republican and Blue States are Democratic. (Think red for Republican to remember the difference.) The Republican Party was founded by anti-slavery activists. Ironically, many states that now vote Republican are former slave states.

States that don't vote the same way every election are called swing states (or purple, battleground or tossup states). Examples of swing states are Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia.

Surely you have heard that President Obama, the incumbent, won re-election, but how did the states vote?

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president

Why did Mitt Romney lose?

Despite the US's poor economy (and Americans often vote with their wallets), some people say he generally lost for these reasons:

• Romney lost terribly among young people, African-Americans and Hispanics. These are fast-growing groups of the US population. 
  

• Hurricane Sandy upset the campaign's rhythm. Romney had gained momentum after Obama's poor performance in the first debate. 

• Romney didn't remind strong conservatives enough about his positions against abortion and same-sex marriage. 

• Some say Romney's vice presidential running mate (Paul Ryan) should have been from a more winnable swing state like Florida or Ohio.

Who can run for president?

Only native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad to parents who were both citizens of the U.S.) may be president of the United States, though from time to time that requirement is called into question. Candidates must be at least 35 years old to be president. John F. Kennedy was the youngest person ever elected president; he was 43 years old when he was inaugurated in 1961.

Candidates must live in the United States for at least 14 years to be president, in addition to being a natural-born citizen. The Constitution is vague on this point. (Must those 14 years be consecutive?) This requirement has not been challenged yet. 

Requirements are the same for the vice president because if the president were to die, become incapacitated, resign or be removed from office, the vice president becomes president. (Next is the speaker of the House of Representatives.)

There are two main current political parties: The Republican Party (the GOP, which means Grand Old Party) and the Democratic Party.

How does the US elect a president? 

Source: Time for Kids

In most elections, the candidate with the most votes wins. But when it comes to picking a U.S. President, things aren’t quite that simple. Weeks after Election Day, a group of 538 people called the Electoral College will actually elect the President.

Each state is given electoral votes based on the size of its population. The 538 electoral voters are chosen by the political parties in each state. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to become President. If no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes, members of the House of Representatives choose the President. There have been times when electors have voted contrary to the people's decision, and there is no federal law or Constitutional provision against it.

In 48 states, the winner of the popular vote (the votes cast by citizens) gets all of the state’s electoral votes. In Maine and Nebraska, the electoral votes can be split between the candidates.

The U.S. Constitution established the Electoral College. Some of the Founding Fathers wanted Congress to pick the President. Others wanted citizens to make the choice. The Electoral College was a compromise.

Things first got complicated in 1876. Samuel Tilden won the popular vote. But his opponent, Rutherford B. Hayes, won the election by a single electoral vote. The 2000 election was complicated too. George W. Bush won fewer popular votes than Al Gore. But in the end, Bush had more electoral votes and went to the White House.


Background information about the candidates

The incumbent was Barack Obama. He is a democrat. His vice president is Joe Biden.

Barack Hussein Obama II was born August 4, 1961. He is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American U.S. president. (There has never been a female president.) Source:  www.wikipedia.org:

 

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mom was from Kansas and his dad was from Kenya. Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.

He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He lost an election for the United States House of Representatives in 2000. He won the Senate election in November 2004, serving until his resignation following his 2008 presidential election victory. He and his wife Michelle have two children, Sasha and Malia.

Here's a part of his acceptance speech:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/07/politics/obama-election-reax-irpt/index.html?hpt=hp_bn4

His Republican challenger was Mitt Romney. His vice presidential candidate (running mate) was Paul Ryan. Source: TIME For Kids

Willard Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Lenore, was an actress. His father George never graduated from college, but became a successful businessman and served as Governor of Michigan.

Romney has degrees from Brigham Young University and Harvard University. After working as a business consultant for several years, Mitt founded the successful investment firm Bain Capital in 1984. He helped organize the 2002 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Then he served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.

Romney is a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). He and his wife Ann have five adult sons and 18 grandchildren.

 
Other important results from the 2012 election

• The Republicans maintain control of the House of Representatives.
• The Democrats gained two more seats and have 53 versus the Republicans' 45. (Two are Independents.)
• Same-sex marriage became legal in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.
• Colorado and Washington agreed to legalize recreational cannabis use; Oregon rejected a similar measure. Massachusetts approved medical marijuana consumption.  
• Arkansas failed to be one of the first states in the south to welcome prescription pot.
• California kept the death penalty.
• Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay U.S. senator, and her state's first female senator.
  

What issue is most important to Americans?

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/10/23/which-issue-will-most-decide-who-will-get-your-vote-for-president/ 

Questions:

Do you think the electoral college system is fair?

Can a child born in Switzerland to an American mom and a French dad become U.S. president?

Can a child born in New York to a French dad and an American mom run for the office?

Obama will be reinaugurated on January 21, 2013.