Chief of State
& Head of Government: President William Jefferson CLINTON
Legislature: The
United States has a bicameral Congress consisting of a House of Representatives
with 435 seats and a Senate with 100 seats.
Description
of electoral structure:
The president is
popularly through a system involving the electoral college. Each state
receives a number of electoral college votes equal to its two Senators
it has plus its number of seats it has in the House of Representatives,
which is based on its population. A candidate must receive a majority
of electoral votes (at least 270) to be elected president. The president
serves a four-year term, for a maximum of two terms.
Members of the
House of Representatives are elected by simple majority vote for a two-year
term. The states of Georgia and Louisiana require an absolute majority
of votes to be elected.
Members of the
Senate are elected by simple majority vote for a six-year term. The
states of Georgia and Louisiana require an absolute majority of votes
to be elected.
Results of the
presidential election:
Presidential Candidate: George W. BUSH
Party: The Republican Party
Electoral Votes Received: 271
Valid Votes Received: 50,461,080
Percentage of Valid Votes: 47.86%
Presidential Candidate: Albert GORE, Jr.
Party: The Democratic Party
Electoral Votes Received: 267
Valid Votes Received: 50,994,082
Percentage of Valid Votes: 48.35%
Presidential Candidate: Ralph NADER
Party: Green Party
Electoral Votes Received: 0
Valid Votes Received: 2,858,843
Percentage of Valid Votes: 2.71%
Presidential Candidate: Patrick BUCHANAN
Party: The Reform Party
Electoral Votes Received: 0
Valid Votes Received: 438,760
Percentage of Valid Votes: .42%
When was the last
presidential election?
Presidential Elections
were last held on November 5, 1996
President William
CLINTON received 49.2% of the vote, thereby defeating Robert DOLE, his
closest competitor, with 40.7% of the vote.
Population and number of registered
voters:
Population: 275,562,673
(July 2000)
Number of registered
voters: 141,850,558 (From 1998 elections, figure excludes North Dakota
and Wisconsin)
Of interest:
This election
marked the first time since 1888 that the winner of the electoral
vote
did
not receive a plurality of the popular vote.
A series of lawsuits
followed this election over the 25 electoral votes in the state of Florida,
which were the deciding factor in the election.
Al GORE conceded
the presidential election to George W. Bush on December 13, 2000, 36
days after the election.
SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES) For additional information:IFES ElectionGuide Online
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