General Elections

A GENERAL ELECTION is when voters make their final choice to fill all current government offices up for election. These offices can be national, state, or local. It is also possible that the voter will be voting on any number of statewide measures (such as increases in taxes or changes to the state constitution) at the same time. In the United States, unlike most other countries, not all government offices will be up for election at the same time because of the different term lengths associated with each office.

The general elections are the final procedure in electing a government official. In the United States, there are a large number of government positions that are filled by election. These range from the president of the United States as well as senators and representatives on the national level, to mayors and judges on the local level. In most cases, each of the two major parties has picked a candidate to run for the office in question, using primaries or a convention. In addition to these two candidates, it is possible that there will be Independent candidates running for the office.

For a candidate's name to appear on the ballot, they must have filed a petition with the state. A certain number of registered voters (determined by the state's constitution) must have signed the petition before the state will accept it. From these candidates, the voter chooses one person that they want to fill that office. The general election that draws the most attention is the presidential election held every four years in the United States. In this election, not only is the president being chosen, but also all the members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and one-third of the members of the U.S. Senate.

Most general elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. For offices with only a two-year term, the election is held every even numbered year. Elections for president are every fourth year on this day, also on an even-numbered year. Federal law specifies this date. Passed in 1845, the initial law governed only presidential elections, and set the date for the election in November. In 1875, the law was expanded to include representatives, including the provision that election had to be in even-numbered years. The law was expanded to include senators in 1914. By putting all the national elections on the same schedule in every state, the impact of changes in representatives to each of the [Page 279]houses was minimized and coordinated to happen at the same time. Some states hold elections for state and local officials on odd-numbered years. Some elections are held in the spring, although these are strictly for state and local officials.

Once a candidate has been chosen by his or her party, or has filed to run as an Independent, he and she can begin campaigning for election. Campaigning will last for several months until Election Day. As to when voters makes up their minds about whom they are voting for, research indicates that most voters have decided somewhere between early September and early October. Researchers agree that few voters change their minds during October. Thus, for most candidates a time the end of the campaign is more a time to avoid making any public mistakes then actually trying to gain more votes. For most offices, Election Day is the end of the process, bringing either victory or defeat. For the president there is one more step. Voters do not actually vote for a presidential candidate, but for electors who have stated that they will vote for a specific candidate.

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