In the ongoing U.S. presidential elections, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump face another busy week in their quest for the White House. But what is the electoral process that takes place every four years? Learn about the American electoral process through the infographic above.
**Constitutional Requirements for Candidacy for the Presidency of the United States:**
- The candidate must be at least 35 years old.
- The candidate must be a natural-born citizen of the United States or a naturalized citizen.
- The candidate must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
**The Electoral Process:**
**Step One: Primaries and Caucuses**
A candidate seeking to represent a political party works to gain the most votes to secure their party's nomination by garnering support in caucuses and ultimately winning the primaries. The two largest political parties in the United States are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, but there are also other parties such as the Libertarians, Greens, and the Vermont Progressive Party.
**Caucuses:** During the caucus, party members select the best candidates through a series of discussions and voting.
**Primaries:** In the primary stage, party members vote for the best candidate to represent them in the general election.
**Step Two: National Conventions**
Each party holds a national convention to choose one presidential nominee. During the convention, the candidate announces their choice for vice president.
**Step Three: General Election**
People in each state vote for one president and one vice president. When a person votes for a candidate, they are actually voting for groups of people in the "Electoral College."
**Step Four: Electoral College**
The Electoral College is not a building or an organization; rather, it is the term used for a group of people who cast official votes for each state for the presidential candidate. The group consists of 538 electors, and each state has a number of electors based on the number of its representatives in Congress.
The candidate who wins at least 270 Electoral College votes becomes the new president. If there is a tie in votes, or if no one reaches 270 votes, the House of Representatives decides the president, while the Senate selects the vice president. The elected president and vice president take an oath of office, and the inauguration takes place in January.
