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Ok......
We elect a president every 4 years. The vice president runs as a partner WITH the candidate. At present we have just 2 major parties fielding candidates. There is not enough cohesive support (in numbers) for any of the other parties to compete on the level of presidential elections.
Minor parties however DO field candidates for lower positions on the national level (House of Representatives and Senate) and even more so for state and level local positions.
House seats are for 2 year terms but there are elections every year because every seat is not on the same rotation, and Senate terms are 6 years. Not all seats for Senate are in the same rotation so there are Senate seats up every 2 years.
The elections that fall on the second year of a President's term are call mid-term elections.
This is done so that there is a more constant flow allowing for changes in the houses of congress.
Under the systems that most European countries use it allows for the majority party to take nearly complete control for their term. This is precisely what the U S system is designed to avoid.
Hillary Clinton is the Secretary of State. The position is appointed by the president and the job is really just to be like a world ambassador representing the U S in direct contact with the President.
When the President is not able to be in his office then the Vice President is in charge.
You are right that our candidates are supported by their respective parties. They are chosen to be the candidates in primary elections where members of each party vote to choose them to represent the party. Most states require that you be a member of the party to vote for THAT party. Some states do not have that restriction. Example: I am a registered Republican in Pennsylvania......I may vote for only those competing for a position within the party. Then in the general election I may vote for anyone regardless of their party affiliation if I so choose.
A little clearer Trudi?
We elect a president every 4 years. The vice president runs as a partner WITH the candidate. At present we have just 2 major parties fielding candidates. There is not enough cohesive support (in numbers) for any of the other parties to compete on the level of presidential elections.
Minor parties however DO field candidates for lower positions on the national level (House of Representatives and Senate) and even more so for state and level local positions.
House seats are for 2 year terms but there are elections every year because every seat is not on the same rotation, and Senate terms are 6 years. Not all seats for Senate are in the same rotation so there are Senate seats up every 2 years.
The elections that fall on the second year of a President's term are call mid-term elections.
This is done so that there is a more constant flow allowing for changes in the houses of congress.
Under the systems that most European countries use it allows for the majority party to take nearly complete control for their term. This is precisely what the U S system is designed to avoid.
Hillary Clinton is the Secretary of State. The position is appointed by the president and the job is really just to be like a world ambassador representing the U S in direct contact with the President.
When the President is not able to be in his office then the Vice President is in charge.
You are right that our candidates are supported by their respective parties. They are chosen to be the candidates in primary elections where members of each party vote to choose them to represent the party. Most states require that you be a member of the party to vote for THAT party. Some states do not have that restriction. Example: I am a registered Republican in Pennsylvania......I may vote for only those competing for a position within the party. Then in the general election I may vote for anyone regardless of their party affiliation if I so choose.
A little clearer Trudi?
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