The Electoral system in the usa

The institutional arrangement of elections in the United States is conditioned by the basic outlines of the political system: federalism, separation of powers, and the Constitution as an ultimate source from which the main principles derive. The constitutional responsibilities for elections are shared by the national government and the government in each state. In short, US elections are regulated by both national and state laws. In addition, there are also municipal and other subdivision regulations. The Constitution authorizes the federal Congress to decide the time, place and manner of elections. For instance, in 1845 Congress set the date for the general election of national officials on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Congress has also enacted some important laws in protection of the Constitutional amendments, especially to prevent discrimination of voters because of race or sex.

There are a great variety of sets of election regulations throughout the United States. In general, in most states candidates are nominated by primary elections. Direct primaries and closed primaries are the two main types of primary elections. In fact, primaries are simply party elections in which a voter participates to help select the candidates of the party of his choice. When the primary was first introduced by several states at the beginning of the 20th century, it was particularly aimed against the powerful party leaders (the bosses) who had exercised sole control over elections in many cities and small town districts. They mostly nominated candidates by party conventions, preventing the rank-and-file members from having any say in the nominations.

Apart from the primaries, the system of party conventions and similar arrangements still prevail in nominating candidates, and these differ from state to state.

There are also strict regulations as to who can be considered as a party candidate for nomination. Such legal requirements are laid down in each state. To become a candidate that counts, an American citizen must usually be nominated by the Democratic or the Republican Party. To qualify for the primary ballot of any of these parties, a citizen must "collect" a specified number of signatures on a petition, which is presented to a special election official for approval. For the offices of the US Senator or Congressman, several thousand signatures must be secured.

A primary election must always be followed by a general election for voters to decide which party (usually only Democratic or Republican) will have its candidates occupy the offices of government. Each stage, i.e. the primary (the party convention, or other ways of nominating candidates) and later the general election, is preceded by long, vigorous and very costly nomination campaigns and then election campaigns. This makes campaign financing an extremely important factor in elections, a factor that has been subject to numerous legal restrictions. The powerful pressure groups that are willing to pay the money and that know how to evade the law can be considered an essential characteristic of the American electoral system. Over the last twenty years or so, a new factor has been soaring up in importance -television. Today television is the most important medium for projecting the candidate and his views to the voter in the best possible light.

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the foundation of the US political system?

2. What institutions are in charge of elections?

3. How are candidates proposed and nominated?

4. What are very important elements of elections?

Exercise 2. Translate the following sentences into Russian:

1. They mostly nominated candidates by party conventions, preventing the rank-and-file members from having any say in the nominations.

2. The constitutional responsibilities for elections are shared by the national government and the government in each state.

3. To become a candidate that counts, an American citizen must usually be nominated by the Democratic or the Republican Party.

4. To qualify for the primary ballot of any of these parties, a citizen must "collect" a specified number of signatures on a petition, which is presented to a special election official for approval.

5. Today television is the most important medium for projecting the candidate and his views to the voter in the best possible light.

Exercise 3. Find in the text the English equivalents for:

разделение властей; основной источник; принимать законы; выдвигать кандидатуру; первичные выборы (прямые, закрытые); рядовые члены; собрать подписи; уклоняться от соблюдения законов.

Exercise 4. Suggest Russian equivalents for the following words and phrases:

basic outlines; to exercise sole control; to have a say in smth; to lay down legal requirements; to qualify for the primary ballot; to soar up in importance; to project the candidate and his views to the voter.

ELECTIONS

One characteristic of the American election system which has not been considered yet is that elections are held at fixed intervals. The regularity of elections is incorporated in the constitution and it directly derives from the principle of the separation of powers. Congress cannot be dissolved nor the President made to resign, so any decisive changes can only be introduced by regularly staged elections.

Public interest in the elections is most widespread in each leap year when the President and the Vice-President are elected. Off-year elections, for offices other than the presidency, are held every two years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Every two years (in even-numbered years because members to the first House were elected in 1800) all members of the House of Representatives are elected. At the same time voters elect one-third of the Senators. (There are 100 Senators; each Senator serves for six years.) In practice most members of Congress stand for re-election.

So every four years an American votes for the President and the V ice-President, and for members of Congress. It has become an established practice that on the same day he also votes for a number of other officials of his state and local districts. At regular intervals he is expected to vote for members of his state legislatures, for the governor of his state, the mayor of his town or city, and for other officials.

Americans today vote by secret ballot. Some states still use paper ballots, but mechanical devices whereby a voter simply pulls a lever to record his vote have been spreading.

Each state is constitutionally entitled to have two seats in the Senate and at least one in the House of Representatives. As to the number of other seats for each state in the House, the US Constitution provides only that it shall be determined by the population.

With each national census every ten years, Congress reapportions the number of seats in the House of Representatives. Thirty-five states which have more than three representatives each are divided by their state legislatures into districts with one Congressman elected in each district. This is called the single-member district system. In each district the candidate is elected by a simple majority. This means that the one who gets most votes wins - a provision more popularly known as the "winner takes all" principle. A similar system operates in Presidential elections, where the number of electoral votes is decisive.

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