U.S. presidential elections

U.S. presidential elections
Name	U.S. presidential elections
Caption	Campaign rally, general election
First	1789
Frequency	quadrennial
Method	Electoral College

U.S. presidential elections are the recurring nationwide contests to select the President and Vice President of the United States. They culminate in a popular vote in each state and a meeting of the Electoral College to determine the winner. These contests involve national parties, state party organizations, prominent politicians, mass media, and judicial review.

History

From the first contest in 1789, early contests featured figures from the Revolutionary generation such as George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, John Jay, and Benjamin Franklin. The 1796 and 1800 contests involved the Federalist Party (United States), the Democratic-Republican Party, and debates among leaders like Aaron Burr and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Nineteenth-century elections saw expansion of suffrage, the rise of the Whig Party and the Republican Party (United States), contests featuring Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel J. Tilden, Grover Cleveland, and William Jennings Bryan. The post-Civil War era included bitter disputes such as the disputed 1876 contest involving Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden and the Compromise of 1877.

Twentieth-century contests featured progressive movements and mass media influence with presidents and candidates like Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. The New Deal coalition, the Civil Rights era, the Vietnam War, and Watergate reshaped party coalitions and election strategies involving entities such as the New Deal, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Watergate scandal, the Federal Election Commission, and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century contests involved figures including Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, George W. Bush, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, with landmark moments like the 2000 decision in Bush v. Gore, the 2016 campaign and its aftermath involving Campaign for the 2016 United States presidential election, and the 2020 election amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Electoral System

The system centers on the Electoral College, a constitutionally established body whose members are chosen under state laws by entities including state legislatures such as the New York State Legislature, the California State Legislature, and the Texas Legislature. The Twelfth Amendment reformed procedures after the election of 1800, and the United States Constitution provides the framework for presidential selection. States administer popular voting under statutes like the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and institutions such as state secretary of state offices, county election boards, and local election commissions. Court interpretation by tribunals including the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and various state supreme courts shapes ballot access rules, recount standards, and faithless elector litigation such as in cases like Chiafalo v. Washington.

Electoral mechanics include winner-take-all allocations in most states, proportional allocations in limited instances, and the two-party dominance of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee. Third-party and independent campaigns have involved organizations and figures like the Libertarian Party (United States), the Green Party (United States), Ralph Nader, Ross Perot, Gary Johnson, and ballot-access litigation before courts and election officials.

Candidates and Campaigns

Candidates typically emerge through party nomination processes structured by state primary laws, national party rules, and party committees such as the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention. High-profile nomination battles have featured primary seasons with contests in Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, the South Carolina Republican primary, and the Super Tuesday cluster. Campaigns are run by teams involving campaign managers, political consultants, pollsters, and legal counsel, often working with groups like the American Association of Political Consultants, the Federal Election Commission, and independent-expenditure organizations under laws such as the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission precedent.

Modern campaigns deploy advertising buys on media platforms including Television broadcasting in the United States, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and targeted outreach coordinated with data firms and consultants who previously worked with figures like Karl Rove, James Carville, David Axelrod, Steve Schmidt, and Kellyanne Conway. Debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates showcase candidates such as John McCain, Sarah Palin, Joe Biden, Michael Dukakis, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Fundraising uses fundraising committees, political action committees such as Super PACs, and rules enforced by the Federal Election Commission.

Voter Participation and Demographics

Voter participation is measured through turnout statistics compiled by institutions like the United States Census Bureau, the Pew Research Center, and academic centers at Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, and Columbia University. Demographic patterns reflect variation across age cohorts, racial and ethnic groups including African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and regional concentrations in states such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Voting-rights developments include the Voting Rights Act of 1965, litigation before the Supreme Court of the United States, and contemporary debates involving state legislatures, governors, and secretaries of state.

Turnout is influenced by mobilization efforts from organizations like the NAACP, League of Women Voters, Rock the Vote, ACLU, and labor unions such as the AFL–CIO. Demographic shifts, suburban realignment, and polarization involve commentators and scholars affiliated with institutions like the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Cato Institute.

Election Administration and Controversies

Election administration involves federal entities such as the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice (United States), state election offices, county boards of elections, and cooperative bodies like the National Association of Secretaries of State. Security concerns have prompted involvement by the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Cyber Command, and intelligence agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to address interference, cybersecurity threats, and disinformation campaigns attributed to foreign actors like the Russian Federation and discussions involving China.

Controversies have included contested results and recounts such as the 2000 Florida recount, legal challenges in cases like Bush v. Gore, allegations of voter suppression, and debates over mail voting as shaped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Campaign finance controversies involve cases like Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and enforcement actions by the Federal Election Commission. Other flashpoints include partisan gerrymandering litigated before the Supreme Court of the United States and state supreme courts, ballot design disputes similar to issues raised in the 2000 Palm Beach County butterfly ballot incident, and faithless elector episodes adjudicated in federal courts.

Category:Elections in the United States