Presidential elections

The Constitution requires the

bom in the United States and a for at least

a series of presidential _

(1) must be at least 35 years old,

(2) in the United States

(3) years. Candidates for the

3. are chosen by political (5) through

(6) elections several months before the

(7), which is held every four years (in years divisible evenly by 4) on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in

November. The twenty-second (8), ratified in 1951, limits

the president to two terms in (9). Although the names of the

(10) appear on the ballot, the people technically do not

president. Instead, the

(11) directly for the president and (12)

(14), equal to the number of

(13) of each state select presidential

(15) and (16)

(18) in each state wins all the

that the particular state has in the of

(17). The candidate with the highest number (19) votes” of that state. The

(20) in each state gather in their state capital shortly after the

(21) and cast their votes for the (22 with the largest number of

(23) votes in their state. To be successful, a candidate for the

(24) must receive 270 electoral (25) out of possible 538.

7. Read the text on Congressional elections in the USA. Then fill in the scheme below it using the information in this and the previous exercises. Use the Vocabulary Section if you need it.

Congressional elections

Elections to Congress take place every two years. Congress has two chambers: Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members, elected for a six year term in dual-seat constituencies (two from each state) with one-third being renewed every two years. Hence, two-thirds of the senators are always persons with some legislative experience at the national level. Until the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913, Senators were elected by state legislatures, not the ⁴-^/ electorate of states. Senators must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least nine years, and be a (legal) inhabitant of the state they represent. The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected for a two year term in single-seat constituencies. House of Representatives elections are held every two years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even years. House elections are first-past-the-post elections that elect a Representative from each of 435 House districts which cover the United States. Special House elections can occur between if a member dies or resigns during a term. The Constitution states that members of the United States House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and be a (legal) inhabitant of the state they represent. The states may set additional requirements for election to Congress, but the Constitution gives each house the power to determine the qualification to its members.

CANDIDATE f REQUIREMENTS E I C ' *■* * *7 ■■	3 PRESIDENTIAL - ELECTIONS	v CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
		fSP;''HOUSE OF ' REPRESENTATIVES	= * SENATE . -- . r *4
Minimum age
Bom in the USA
US Citizen (for how long)
Resident (for how long)
Elections are held (how often)
Elections are held (when)
Special elections (when)
Elected (by whom)
Who is the winner
Tvpes of constituencies (for Congressional elections only)
Term in office

8. At home compare and contrast the process of electing the President and the members of Congress in the USA using the table above. In which ways are they similar and in which different? Don’t give separate descriptions of each electoral process. You may use the clues in the boxes below. There is a possible beginning of your essay below the boxes. See also: Opinion Essays in the Recommendations on Creative Writing Work.