I: Although the United States of America is considered to be a perfect example of democracy, its electoral system is very much unlike many other voting systems in Western democracies. Many people find it confusing. Can you make it a bit easier for us to understand how presidents are elected in the U.S.?

P: I’ll do my best. Let’s start with the beginning of the electoral year, which in the U.S. happens every four years. Unlike in many other countries, in the U.S., choosing the next president does not happen in just one day, but rather is the result of many events happening across time. In the end, the next President is sworn into the office in January the following year. He or she then lives in the White House.

I: I understand it’s a long process. What’s the first stage?

P: First each state holds a kind of mini elections in which a number of candidates compete with each other to gain their party nomination. This can be  complicated because different states have different regulations regarding how to organise these events.

I: We always hear about Super Tuesday in the election year. What is it?

P: It’s a very important day, as then the greatest number of states hold their primary elections. It usually falls in March or April. But you have to know that people don’t actually vote for their candidates but the delegates who then attend the national conventions of their parties. That’s where the candidates with the biggest number of delegates supporting them are awarded their party nomination. During the parties’ national conventions, the candidates name their running mates–people who will become vice‑presidents.

I: What happens after that?

P: Massive presidential campaigns are launched. They are very costly and the candidates have to raise money to finance them themselves, so they have teams of people who do that as well as many other jobs for them. The candidates travel across the country, meeting their voters and debating with each other. There are usually a couple of televised heated debates between the candidates during which they are asked lots of difficult questions and have a chance to present their political programmes.

I: Do Americans ever vote directly for the candidate they want to become their president?

P: Not really. When Americans go to the polls in November, and yes, the elections always take place on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, they don’t really vote for their candidates, but for members of something called the Electoral College. Each state has a number of electors based on the size of its population and so, for example, California has 55 electors, while Alaska has only 3. There are 538 electors nowadays in the Electoral College. The winning candidate has to get at least 270 votes to become president. The voting goes along the “winner takes it all” rule, which means that no matter if a given candidate gets 51% or 99% of general votes in a given state, all electoral votes go to the winner.

I: That sounds a bit odd. Doesn’t it result in some unexpected situations?

P: It may. It has actually happened more than once, the last time when Donald Trump won against Hilary Clinton. Despite the fact that Mrs Clinton received about 3 million more individual votes, so she won the popular vote, Donald Trump collected the required majority of electoral votes and became the 45th president.

I: What happens next?

P: So, after the popular vote in November, the Electoral College gathers and the electors vote according to the mandate given to them by the inhabitants of the states they represent. The votes are counted and the winner is announced. At that point the process of transition starts during which the new president and his or her team are gradually handed over all the matters connected with running the country. It finishes 72 to 78 days after the presidential election, at the Capitol where the presidential inauguration ceremony takes place. The vice‑president and president, in that order, take their oaths of office and go to work! It is actually specified by the 20th amendment to the Constitution that the term of each elected President of the United States starts at noon on January 20th of the year following the election.

I: Professor, thank you for this comprehensive explanation.

P: Thank you for having me.