How+do+we+elect+a+US+President?

The Presidential Election Process Scavenger Hunt Name:

Directions: Use the following website (procon.org) to answer the following questions about the presidential election process.

I. **Meet Eligibility Guidelines Set by the US Constitution** 1. List the formal (constitutional) requirements to be President and Vice President.

II. **Test the Water: Pre-Candidacy Process** 2. Identify the purposes of a candidate’s exploratory committee.

III. **Declare Candidacy & File Applications with Federal Election Commission (FEC)** 3. What threshold must a candidate meet in order to register with the FEC?

4. Why does raising a large amount of money illustrate a candidate is a “serious contender”?

IV. **Fundraise and Campaign** 5. In what ways does the US presidential election system emphasize the importance of popular participation?

6. What types of actions does a candidate do during the campaign process?

V. Party **Primaries,****Caucuses**, and **Delegates** 7. What is the main purpose of a primary election?

8. How do closed primaries differ from open primaries?

9. What happens at a caucus?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">10. How does federalism play a part in each state having different types of primary and caucus rules?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Democratic Party: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">11 Why do Democratic delegates matter?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">12. How do pledged delegates compare with Superdelegates? Which political party uses Superdelegates? <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">13. What type of delegate apportioning system does the Democratic party to use in dividing up candidate delegates?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Republican Party: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">14. Why do Republican delegates matter?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">15. How do pledged delegates differ from unpledged delegates?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">16. What type of delegate apportioning system does the Republican party tend to use in dividing up candidate delegates?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">VI. **Party Conventions** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">17. What major decision is formally announced at a party’s national convention?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">18. How have the roles of party conventions changed through history?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">VII. **General Election Campaign: The Final Candidates** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">19. What types of strategic changes does a candidate make during the general election campaign?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">20. Why does a candidate usually “shift to the center” during the general election campaign?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">21. List the types of campaign activities a candidate (and their staff/supporters) are performing during this stage.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">VIII: **Election Day: Winning the Popular and Electoral Votes** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">22. What factor determines the amount of electoral votes a state receives?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">23. Who/what are voters actually choosing when they select a presidential ticket (president & vice president)?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">24. What factor determines how a ticket wins a state’s electoral votes in 48 of the 50 states?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">25. How many electoral votes does a presidential ticket need to win? What happens if no ticket wins the minimum amount of electoral votes?