novemberA4

A Monthly Publication of the USA Mission to Poland. Warsaw • Krakow • Poznan

Volume I. Issue 9

November 2004

The texts on this page come from the Department of State site: http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/democracy/elections.html

ELECTIONS

2004

To run for president of the United

States the candidate must:

Be a natural-born citizen of the United States

Be at least 35 years of age, and

Be a resident of the United States for at least 14

years.

U.S. Constitution, Article 2, section 2, paragraph 5

Republican

Presidential

Candidate

George W. Bush

Sworn into office on January 20, 2001, as the 43rd

president, George W. Bush is the second son of a president

to also serve in that office. John Quincy Adams, son of John

Adams, was the first. Bush grew up in Texas and received a

bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1968. After

college, he joined the Texas Air National Guard. He

received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1975.

After graduating, he returned to Texas and began a career

in the energy business. With a group of other investors he

purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989

and served as general managing partner. In 1994 he was

elected governor of Texas, a position he held for six years.

President Bush and his wife Laura have twin daughters.

Democratic Presidential Candidate

John F. Kerry

John Kerry graduated in 1966 from Yale University with a

Bachelor of Arts degree and joined the U.S. Navy. He

served in Vietnam from 1968-1969. After receiving a law

degree from Boston College in 1976 he worked as an

assistant district attorney and opened his own law

practice. In 1982 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of

Massachusetts and in 1984 he was elected to the U.S.

Senate, where he is currently serving his fourth

consecutive term. He is on the Senate Foreign Relations

Committee. Kerry is married to the former Teresa Heinz,

widow of Senator John Heinz from Pennsylvania. He has

two daughters and she has three sons.

Richard B. Cheney

John R. Edwards

Elections

Parties

American astronaut

Leroy Chiao. (AP)

American Astronaut Will Vote From Space on Election Day

Texas lawmakers passed 1997 bill to let astronauts vote from space

Floating around the Earth 360 kilometers up, NASA Astronaut Leroy Chiao is not too far

from the polls to vote on Election Day. Chiao, who is a few days into a six-month mission

as commander of the 10th crew of the International Space Station, will cast his vote by

secure e-mail in the Nov. 2 national election.

Step I: Primaries and Caucuses

There are many people who would like to become President.

Each of these people have their own ideas about how our gov-

ernment should work. Some of these people can belong to the

same political party. That's where primaries and caucuses come

in.

In these elections, party members get to vote for the candidate

that will represent their party in the upcoming general election.

Step 2: National Conventions

At the end of the primaries and caucuses, each party holds a

national convention to finalize the selection of one Presidential

nominee. During this time, each Presidential candidate chooses

a running-mate (or Vice-Presidential candidate).

Step 3: The General (or Popular) Election

Now that each party is represented by one candidate, the gen-

eral election process begins. Candidates campaign throughout

the country in an attempt to win the support of voters. Finally in

November, the people vote for one candidate.

When a person casts a vote in the general election, they

are not voting directly for an individual Presidential candi-

date. Instead, voters in each state actually cast their vote

for a group of people, known as electors. These electors

are part of the Electoral College and are supposed to vote

for their state’s preferred candidate.

Step 4: The Electoral College

In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain num-

ber of electors, based on each state's total number of represen-

tation in Congress. Each elector gets one electoral vote. All to-

gether, there are 538 Electoral votes.

In December (following the general election), the electors cast

their votes. When the votes are counted on January 6th, the

Presidential candidate that gets more than half (270) wins the

election. The President-elect and Vice President-elect take the

oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January

20th.

- The Republican Party (often GOP for

Grand Old Party) is one of the two major po-

litical parties in the United States. The current

President of the United States, George W. Bush, is a

member of the party – and by rules common to both

major U.S. parties, its head – and it has majorities in

the Senate and the House. The GOP is a conserva-

tive (or right-wing) party, and it has numerous internal

factions.

The party was organized in Ripon, Wisconsin on Feb-

ruary 28, 1854, as a party opposed to the westward

expansion of slavery. It is not to be confused with the

Democratic-Republican party of Thomas Jefferson or

the National Republican Party of Henry Clay. Since its

inception, its chief opposition has been the Democ-

ratic Party.

- The Democratic Party is one of the two

major United States political parties. The

party is currently the minority in both the

Senate and the House.

Its origins lie in the original Republican Party founded

by Thomas Jefferson in 1794 (today, this party is usu-

ally referred to as the "Democratic-Republican Party"

for the sake of convenience; but such usage is anach-

ronistic). After the disintegration of the Federalist

party, the Republicans were the only major party in

American politics. The presidency of Andrew Jackson,

however, destroyed the unity of the party, with the

Jacksonians forming the Democratic-Republican fac-

tion, opposed by the National Republicans, led by

John Quincy Adams. The Jacksonian "Democratic-

Republicans" soon became known as simply

"Democrats". From 1833 to 1856, the Democratic

party was opposed chiefly by the Whig Party. From

1856 onward its main opposition has come from the

modern Republican

Party.

Two-Party System

Two-party competition stands out as one of the Ameri-

can political system's most famous features. Since the

1860s, the Republicans and Democrats have domi-

nated electoral politics.

To read more: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/election04/

parties.htm

Source:http://www.wordiq.com

Third Party

Despite the dominance of the Republican and Democratic

parties, third parties often affect the outcome of

U.S. elections. Ralph Nader is the only third

party candidate in 2004 that might have a meas-

urable impact.

Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/democracy/

elections/candidates_and_parties.html

Source:http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-

5/election/president.html

Page 2

There are currently 24 states,

totaling 208 electoral votes, in

the likely and solid columns for

President George Bush. They

are: Alabama (9), Alaska (3),

Arizona (10), Arkansas (6),

Georgia (15), Idaho (4),

Indiana (11), Kansas (6),

Kentucky (8), Louisiana (9),

Mississippi (6), Missouri (11),

Montana (3), Nebraska (5),

North Carolina (15), North

Dakota (3), Oklahoma (7),

South Carolina

(8), South

Dakota (3),

Tennessee

(11), Texas

(34), Virginia

(13), Utah (5),

and Wyoming

(3).

There are 13

states either

likely or

certainly going

to Senator John Kerry, with a

total of 179 electoral votes.

They are: California (55),

Connecticut (7), the District of

Columbia (3), Delaware (3),

Hawaii (4), Illinois (21),

Maryland (10), Massachusetts

(12), New Jersey (15), New

York (31), Rhode Island (4),

Vermont (3), and Washington

(11).

There are currently three

states that lean toward Kerry

and have a total of 28

electoral votes: Maine (4),

Michigan (17), and Oregon

(7).

Of the 50 states and the

District of Columbia voting on

November 2, there are

currently 11 states, with 123

electoral votes, that are too

close to call. They are:

Colorado (9), Florida (27),

Iowa (7), Minnesota (10),

Nevada (5), New Hampshire

(4), New Mexico (5), Ohio

(20), Pennsylvania (21), West

Virginia (5), and Wisconsin

(10). A candidate must have a

total of 270 votes to win the

Electoral College and, thus,

the election.

Current State of Play Electoral College

The Electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S.

Constitution as an alternative to electing the president by

popular vote or by Congress. Each state elects the number of

representatives to the Electoral College that is equal to its

number of Senators—two from each state—plus its number of

delegates in the House of Representatives. The District of

Columbia, which has no voting representation in Congress, has

three Electoral College votes. There are currently 538 electors

in the Electoral College; 270 votes are needed to win the

presidential election.

Several

weeks after

the general

election,

electors

from each

state meet

in their

state

capitals and

cast their

official vote for president and vice president. The votes are then

sent to the president of the U.S. Senate who, on January 6 with

the entire Congress present, tallies the votes and announces

the winner.

The winner of the Electoral College vote usually is the candidate

who has won the popular vote. However, it is possible to win

the presidency without winning the popular vote. The most

recent case occurred in the 2000 presidential election when

President Bush won the Electoral College vote—271 to 266—

after losing the popular vote to then Vice President Al Gore.

Two other presidents—Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 and

Benjamin Harrison in 1888—became president without winning

the popular vote. In the 1824 election between John Quincy

Adams and Andrew Jackson, Jackson won the popular vote but

neither won a majority of Electoral College votes. Adams

secured the presidency only after the election was decided by

vote of the House of Representatives, a procedure provided for

in the Constitution when no candidate wins a majority of the

Electoral College.

Source: e-journal: Elections Guide 2004

When is a general election held?

It is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in even-

numbered years.

Source: e-journal: Elections Guide 2004 (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Page 3

2 Nov. 2004

Activity Page

Win a Book!

To take part in a

drawing for one of three

English-language books

find the answer to the

following question:

What does the GOP

stand for?

Send your answer to:

[email protected]

Give your name,

address, and age. The

deadline is November

30.

Good Luck!

The winners from the

previous issue will soon

receive their prizes

by mail.

About ZOOM

Zoom is online at

www.usinfo.pl/zoom/

Subscription issues

www.usinfo.pl/zoom/

subscribe.htm

zoom@usinfo.pl

American Information

Resource Centers

Warsaw

Ambasada USA

ul. Piękna 14, 00-540

Warszawa

airc_warsaw@state.gov

Krakow

Konsulat Generalny USA

ul. Stolarska 9, 31-043

Krakow

KrakowAIRC@state.gov

Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government: http://bensguide.gpo.gov

Kids Voting USA

: http://www.kidsvotingusa.org/

PBS: The Democracy Project

: http://pbskids.org/democracy/vote/

What Kids Can Do

: http://www.whatkidscando.org/Wire/Wire.asp?

SearchCase+FindId&WireId=406

Election Information

: http://www.usinfo.pl/elections/

MTV’s Rock the Vote

: http://www.rockthevote.com

Glossary

Fill in the Blank

President, Candidate, Ballot Box, Ballot, Democracy, Independent, Poll,

Voters, Election

1. The ________________________ is a sealed container into which an elector places a

completed ballot paper.

2. An __________________ is a voting process by which a choice is made between can-

didates in an election or between options in a referendum. Also, can be described by

the choosing of representatives by voters.

3. Another name for the vote itself is called _____________________________.

4. A system of government in which governance of the people is by elected representa-

tives is called _______________________________.

5. An ________________________ candidate or Member of Parliament can be de-

scribed as not a member of a political party.

6. Another word for an election is a ______________________________.

7. Those people who vote in an election are called ——————————————.

8. A person who seeks or is nominated for an office, prize, or honor is known as a

____________________________.

9. The _____________________________ is the chief executive of the United States,

serving as both chief political executive.

Caucus—a meeting, in particular a meeting of people whose goal is political

or organizational

Front-runner—a candidate in any election or nomination process who is

considered to be the most popular or likely to win

Midterm election—an election for seats in the U.S. Senate and House of

Representatives that occurs during a presidential term of office

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