Elections in the United States

Elections in the United States

How do elections work in the United States?

Representative Democracy

The United States is a representative democracy. This means the people choose leaders. These leaders become the government. These leaders are called representatives. The representatives make decisions for the people.

President

The president is a representative. We elect a president every 4 years.

Multiple Choice

How often do we elect a president?

• Every year

• Every 2 years

• Every 4 years

• Every 6 years

When is the election?

The presidential election is in November. The presidential election is on a Tuesday.

The Electoral College

Each state gets to vote for president. Each state gets a different number of votes. These votes are based on population.

Multiple Choice

How many electoral college votes does Michigan have?

• 3

• 8

• 16

• 38

Multiple Choice

How many electoral college votes does Texas have?

• 3

• 8

• 16

• 38

Multiple Choice

How many electoral college votes does Alaska have?

• 3

• 8

• 16

• 38

Multiple Choice

How many electoral college votes does Kentucky have?

• 3

• 8

• 16

• 38

Electoral College Map

This is a map of the United States. This is a map of electoral college votes. This is a map predicting who will win each state. A prediction is a guess.

Electoral College Map

Red = Probably Republican

Blue = Probably Democrat

Brown = Undecided

Winner Takes All System

The people of a state vote in a presidential election. The candidate with the most popular votes gets all the electoral college votes. The candidate who wins Michigan will get 16 electoral college votes.

Who wins?

The candidate who gets 270 electoral college votes wins.

Multiple Choice

How many electoral college votes are needed to win the presidential election?

• 163

• 270

• 278

• 538