US elections

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• Secundair onderwijs

US elections

What do you see here? 

Biden, blue, democrat

Trump, red, republican

white house: official residence of the president of the USA in Washington DC

1. Elections in the US

Let's test how much do you know 

about politics and elections in the US? 

Answer the questions.

There are two main political parties and they are called...

1. Democrats and Conservatives
2. Democrats and Republicans
3. Liberals and Republicans
4. Liberals and Socialists

The people who work in the US Congress to make new laws are called

1. Ministers and Senators
2. Representatives and Secretaries
3. Senators and Representatives
4. Secretaries and Ministers

The US Constitution is

1. the supreme law of the country
2. the highest court in the country
3. what politicians say they'll do if they win the election
4. the Representatives in Congress

Presidential candidates run for office every...

1. 3 years
2. 4 years
3. 5 years
4. 6 years

When a new president is inaugurated and takes office, they have to

1. move into the White House
2. throw a party for international leaders
3. promise to support the Constitution
4. give a speech to the world press

A president is allowed to hold office for a total of

1. three terms
2. two terms
3. four terms
4. there is no limit

How are US presidents elected?

Read these sentences out loud. 

Think about the meaning of the underlined words.

1. Presidential candidates campaign around the country and compete to try to win their party’s nomination.
2. Both political parties hold a national convention to select a Presidential nominee.
3. On election day, people in every state cast their vote.
4. People vote for the candidate they want to represent them in the general election.
5. When a president is chosen he is inaugurated in Congress.

speak publicly

bring out a vote

a large meeting 

the official candidacy

officially act for people

official ceremony to start task

to campaign

a nomination

a convention 

to cast a vote

to represent

inauguration

Which of these words are often used in business contexts? 

Which word is often used in a business context?

campaign

nomination

convention

cast a vote

represent

inaugurate

a person who is nominated is called ... 

a nominee

cfr. 

interviewee, trainee, employee

campaign

e.g. 

- a social media campaign

- marketing campaign

= a planned set of activities that people carry out over a period of time in order to achieve something 

convention 

e.g. 

- a medical convention

- a convention center

= large gathering or meeting for people who work in the same industry or sector

"How to become president of the USA." 

look at this infographic

try to predict the missing info

natural born citizen

live in US 14 years

35 years old

primaries 

 caucuses

to win over delegates

candidate => nominee

vice president candidate

In July and August

electors 

538

270

decides after election day on Nov 5th

January 20th

The electoral college in detail

Read the text on the following slide or on paper 

and answer the questions

00:33

Give the 3 requirements to become a US president

01:09

How can you win a nomination?

01:38

What happens at the National Party Convention?

02:09

What does the electoral college consist of?

02:20

When is the inauguration?

Read this text on your laptop

The Electoral College

How it works

A. On Election Day in early November, people in every state cast their votes for their preferred candidates. But

American voters are not voting directly for their president. They are actually voting for a group of people called

electors. In the US, only presidential elections use the electoral college system.

B. The electoral college works like this: each state gets a certain number of electors, chosen by their political parties

and based on the state’s Congressional representation. States with larger populations have more electors than

those with smaller populations. The popular vote is counted state by state, rather than nationally. In midDecember, the electors from each state meet to officially select the candidate who won the most votes in that

state. The candidate who has more than 270 electoral votes (out of 538) wins the national election.

C. In most states, it’s winner-takes-all: whichever candidate has the largest share of the vote captures all the electoral

votes for that state. However, in Maine and Nebraska, a proportional system is used, so in these two states,

electors are able to represent the popular vote more accurately.

D. It is possible that a candidate can receive the most votes in the whole country, but still lose the electoral vote.

This happened in 2016. The electoral college system was written into the Constitution more than 200 years ago,

intended as a compromise between a popular vote and a vote in Congress. To change this system, a Constitutional

amendment would be required.

source: usa.gov

The Electoral College and how it works

A. On Election Day in early November, people in every state cast their votes for their preferred candidates. But

American voters are not voting directly for their president. They are actually voting for a group of people called

electors. In the US, only presidential elections use the electoral college system.

B. The electoral college works like this: each state gets a certain number of electors, chosen by their political parties and based on the state’s Congressional representation. States with larger populations have more electors than those with smaller populations. The popular vote is counted state by state, rather than nationally. In mid-December, the electors from each state meet to officially select the candidate who won the most votes in that

state. The candidate who has more than 270 electoral votes (out of 538) wins the national election.

C. In most states, it’s winner-takes-all: whichever candidate has the largest share of the vote captures all the electoral votes for that state. However, in Maine and Nebraska, a proportional system is used, so in these two states,

electors are able to represent the popular vote more accurately.

D. It is possible that a candidate can receive the most votes in the whole country, but still lose the electoral vote.

This happened in 2016. The electoral college system was written into the Constitution more than 200 years ago,

intended as a compromise between a popular vote and a vote in Congress. To change this system, a Constitutional

amendment would be required.

source: usa.gov

most electors

in between

least electors

Alaska

California

Texas

Why are there sometimes confusing results? 

principle of the winner takes it all (importance of the swing states)

Is this system likely to change? 

no, consitutional change necessary

US elections

What do you see here? 

Biden, blue, democrat

Trump, red, republican

white house: official residence of the president of the USA in Washington DC

Discuss

1. Is this system similar to the Belgian system? What differs?
2. Voting in US starts at 18? Is that a good age? Why/not?
3. Why do you think the president is limited to 2 terms?
4. Do you agree that many people worldwide are interested in US elections? Why/not?

1. - More than 2 parties

- We choose our representatives for parliament directly, parties decide on the government formation (ministers)

- no president but a prime minister who reports to the king (consitutional monarchy) 

- Gewesten en gemeenschappen: 5 parliaments and governments + Federal 1 chamber + 1 senate

2. Are you 

a republican or a democrat? 

republicans

democrats

higher taxes for the rich

right to have an abortion

restriction on gun possession

stop immigration 

conservative

progressive

smaller government

Who are you? 

Do the test

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/  

www.pewresearch.org

LEFT or RIGHT

Study the information about political polarisation in the US 

 on the website of facinghistory

Formulate answers:

1. What is meant by polarization, explain with an example?

2. Do you recognize this in Belgian society?

3. Explain the 4 causes of polarization in Dutch.

4. What is an upside of polarization in the US? What is a downside? (In Dutch)

5. How can you avoid polarization? (In Dutch)

US elections

What do you see here? 

Biden, blue, democrat

Trump, red, republican

white house: official residence of the president of the USA in Washington DC

3. Where do we get our news and why does it matter? 

Where do you mostly get your news from?

newspaper

television news

website

social media

news apps

radio

podcast

memorable or
controversial news
last few months

Discuss

Do you think the news sources you follow reinforce what you already believe or challenge you with a broader array of perspectives?

4. Healthy media habits