Written by Carmen-Cristina Cirlig and Micaela Del Monte

Graphics by Giulio Sabbati

In July 2016, the two major US parties will nominate their respective official candidate for the 58th US presidential election which takes place in November. With less than three months before the national conventions, and a large number of delegates already allocated, on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is running ahead of Bernie Sanders towards the nomination. On the Republican side there is still much uncertainty about who will finally be named official candidate.

The President is head of state, head of government, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. Thus, presidential elections are an important part of American political life. Although millions of American citizens vote in presidential elections every four years, the President is not, in fact, directly elected by the people. Citizens elect the members of the Electoral College, who then cast their votes for the President and Vice President.

While key elements of the presidential election are spelled out in the US Constitution, other aspects have been shaped by state laws, national party rules and state party rules. This explains why presidential campaigns have evolved over time, from the days when presidential candidates were nominated in the House of Representatives by the ‘King caucus’, to an almost exclusively political party-dominated convention system, and finally to the modern system of nominations based on primaries, introduced progressively to increase democratic participation. A number of additional developments have also played an important role in shaping today’s presidential elections, notably political party efforts to limit ‘frontloading’; the organisation of the Electoral College system and the changes to the campaign financing system.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Understanding US Presidential elections‘ in PDF.

Who can vote in primaries and caucuses Growth in number of delegates to national conventions Awarding rules for Republican delegates by state (2016) Allocation of electors per state, valid for presidential elections of 2012, 2016 and 2020, based on the 2010 census 2016 US presidential campaign and election calendar Types of Political Action Committees (PACs) Contribution limits for federal elections in 2015-2016 Current remaining presidential candidates, ranked by campaign fundraising and spending, and outside spending in support of or against them

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