Almost everything that you see around you – the roads, the schools, the potholes and even the quality of your health care – is determined by people elected to office at local, county, state and federal levels. That’s why it is so important to make your voice heard and vote!
Historically, presidential elections have been closely contested. For example, Lyndon B. Johnson held a slight lead over Richard Nixon in 1968 and Ronald Reagan had a narrow edge over Walter Mondale in 1984. The reasons for this tight race are many, but one big factor is that campaigns are very effective at narrowing the lead of the front-runners. In 10 of the 12 presidential elections since 1948, a candidate’s initial advantage has slipped away by election day.
The nomination process is also complex: each party holds a series of state primary and caucus contests on different dates, with differing rules as to who can participate and how votes are counted. The results of these contests narrow the field to candidates who are considered serious by their party. Generally, delegates (those who are assigned to a particular candidate) must vote for that candidate, although there have been exceptions, including Ross Perot in 1992.
In the end, each state gives its 538 electoral votes to a candidate. The winner is the candidate who receives the majority of electoral votes. If no candidate gets a majority, the election goes to Congress, where the House of Representatives chooses the president from the three candidates with the most electoral votes.