Although the traditional start date of the general electoral campaign is Labor festival (The first Monday in September), in practice, the campaign begins much earlier, because candidates are known long before national conventions. Like primary campaigns and national conventions, the general electoral campaign is publicly financed through the taxpayer control system. Since public funding was introduced in the 1970s, all democratic and republican candidates have chosen to receive federal counterpart funds for general elections; In exchange for these funds, they agree to limit their expenses to an equal amount to federal counterpart funds which they more receive a maximum personal contribution of $ 50,000. In 2004, each candidate of the Grand Party received some $ 75 million. In 2008, Democratic candidate Barack Obama has become the first candidate to withdraw public funding for the primary and general electoral campaign; He collected more than $ 650 million. In 2012, the two presidential candidates (Obama and Mitt Romney) withdrew from the public financing program.
The presidential candidates of the minor party face formidable barriers. While candidates for the Democratic and Republican presidential election are automatically listed in the first and second on the voting bulletins of the general elections, the minor candidates of the party must navigate in the complex and varied laws of the State to obtain access to the ballot. In addition, a new party is eligible for federal funding in an election only if it received at least 5% of the vote in previous elections. All parties that receive at least 25% of the vote in the previous presidential election are entitled to equivalent public funding.
The general electoral strategy of a candidate is largely dictation by electoral college system. All states with the exception of Maine and Nebraska follow the rule of unity, by which all the electoral votes of a state are granted to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in this state. The candidates therefore concentrate their resources and time on major states and states which are considered to be launchers, and they tend to ignore the states which are considered safe for one party or in the other and states with few electoral votes.
Modern presidential campaigns focus on the media, because candidates spend millions of dollars for television advertising and for public events staged (photo sessions) designed to generate favorable media coverage. The most considered campaign shows are the debates Between democratic and republican candidates for the presidential election and vice-president (minor parties are often excluded from these debates, a fact cited by criticisms which argue that the current electoral process is undemocratic and hostile on views other than those of the two main parties). For the first time in 1960, such debates have been a basic food for the presidential campaign since 1976. They are closely analyzed in the media and sometimes cause a change in public opinion In favor of the candidate who is perceived as the winner or who is considered more attractive or more sympathetic by most viewers. (Some analysts argued, for example, that John F. Kennedy In a relaxed and self -confident way, as well as her beautiful appearance, helped him in his debate with Richard Nixon and contributed to his close victory in the 1960 presidential election.) Due to the potential impact and the huge audience of debates – 80 million people looked at the unique debate between Jimmy Carter And Ronald Reagan In 1980 – campaigns generally undertake Intensive negotiations on the number of debates as well as their rules and their formats.
The presidential election is held on Tuesday After the first Monday in November. Voters do not really vote for candidates for the presidential election and the vice-president, but rather vote for the voters promised to a particular candidate. Only on rare occasions, such as the presidential election challenged in 2000 between Al Gore And George W. BushIsn’t it clear on the day of the ballot (or the next morning) which won the presidency. Although it is possible for the candidate who received the most popular votes to lose the electoral vote (as has also happened in 2000), these inversions are infrequent. Voters meet in their respective state capitals to vote on Monday following the second Wednesday in December, and the results are officially ratified by the congress in early January.
After winning the election, an elected representative who is not holder appoints a transitional team to carry out a smooth transfer of power between incoming and outgoing administrations. The official escure ceremony and the inauguration of the new president occurs on January 20 (since 1937) in Washington, DC the chief justice of the UNITED STATES Administer the official oath of the elected president: “I swear solemnly (or affirms) that I will faithfully perform the office of the President of the United States, and the best will of my capacities, to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States.” The first speech of the new president, called the Inaugural addressThen comes to the nation.