SUBSCRIBE HERE!-http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC__rOFCpeBWMR8EH1Dk2QwQ?sub_confirmation=1 Seen by some as one of the most democratic electoral systems in the world, the United States' Presidential Elecoral System is one of the most copied, vilified and loved systems in the world. Its basic principles were first thought up by the Founding Fathers, who wanted an efficient system that represented the people, and was the envy of other countries. How it works is this. Every four years there is an election, last time it was 2012, next time it'll be 2016. What happens is, on the first Tuesday after a Monday in November on that fourth year, voting starts in each state. You don't for a Presidential Candidate, but an Elector, who is a candidate that represents one of the Presidental Candidates. Once the voting has finished, the electors come together to vote for the President they want. When these people are together, it's called the Electoral College. There are a few issues with the Electoral College, one of them being its old age- many people feel that a 200 year old system no longer represents ordinary Americans. This idea can be backed up when you think about how one vote in California, one of the biggest states in America, is worth one third of what a single vote in Wyoming is worth. This problem was brought to light when in 2000 George Bush surpassed the majority needed (270) in the Electoral College by one vote, with 271 electors, even though his opposing candidate had more than half a million more votes than Bush. Yet Bush became President. This is a clear example of how the system simply doesn't represent the people. Yet will the system change? It seems highly unlikely. In 200 years there is a high chance that America will still be electing Presidents via this unfair method. Here is the transcript if you're interested: How Do Presidential Elections Work In The USA? Democrats & Republicans In America, the Presidential electoral system, the system whereby the President is elected to power, is pretty confusing. In this video, I hope to simplify this system as best as I can, so that you’ll be able to understand it in preparation for the 2016 election. So back when the Constitution was written, the founding fathers tried to make it as easyand democratic as possible for the Presidential to be elected A couple of amendments later, they had a system which has now being going for 200 years. In the twelfth amendment it says ‘The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President... The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President,’ Now this may seem pretty easy to understand but let me assure you, from here it only starts to get more complicated. Pretty much, to run for President, you have to be 35 years old, a US born native citizen and somebody who’s been living in the country for at least 14 years. Due to the first past the post electoral system in America, it is only usually two candidates who have a real chance to become President, both coming from opposing parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. In the build up to Election Day in November every four years, a candidate is chosen from each party and they will debate and put forward their differing arguments. Then, on the first Tuesday coming after a Monday in November, voting begins across the country. However when people vote in each state, they’re not really voting for a candidate, they’re voting for an elector, pledged to a certain candidate. Thanks for watching and don’t forget to like share, and definitely subscribe! Thanks for watching. Support My Channel Via Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thatswhytv Sign Up To Famebit To Make Money Off YouTube! https://famebit.com/a/thatswhytv2 Support My Channel By Shopping On Amazon! http://www.amazon.co.uk/?tag=thatswhytv2-21 Sign Up For A 30 Day Trial Of Amazon Prime To Help Support This Channel! http://www.amazon.co.uk/tryprimefree?tag=thatswhytv2-21 Follow Me Online! Follow Me On Twitter https://twitter.com/thatswhytv Like My Page On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thatswhytv Subscribe To My Other Channel On YouTube http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC__rOFCpeBWMR8EH1Dk2QwQ?sub_confirmation=1 Tags: election 2016,presidential election 2016,obama,hillary clinton,bernie sanders,donald trump,ted cruz,jeb bush,house of respresentatives,congress,democrats,republicans,voting,who should I vote for?,what if trump becomes president,how is the president elected?,who will be the next president?,trump muslims,will trump be the next president?,when is election day?,us constitution,electoral college,will hillary be the next president,iowa,new hampshire,primaries Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are my own and affiliates are Amazon. Thumbnail attribution belongs to http://carnegieendowment.org/

• published: 19 Dec 2015
• views: 1691