U.S. presidential Election

Basics

• For the post of President and Vice-President every 4 years
• Candidate must be at least 35yrs of age
• They must be native-born citizens of United States and a resident of at least 14 years
• Can not be elected for third term.

Candidates for President and Vice-President Run Together. 

1. In the general election, each candidate for President runs together with a candidate for Vice-President on a "ticket."  
2. Voters select one ticket to vote for; they can't choose a presidential candidate from one ticket and a vice-presidential candidate from another ticket.

The Electoral College. 

1. Separate election in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia; total 51 elections
2. The voters are really voting for "electors" pledged to one of the tickets. 
3. These electors make up the "Electoral College."
4. Each state has the same number of electors as it has senators and representatives (there are two senators from each state, but the number of representatives depends on the state population in the most recent census)

The People in Each State Vote for Electors in the Electoral College. 

The election is winner-take-all whichever ticket receives the most votes in that state (or in D.C.) gets all the elector.

The Electoral College Votes for the President. 

The Electoral College then votes for President and for Vice-President, with each elector casting one vote; these votes are called electoral votes. Each elector is pledged to vote for particular candidates for President and Vice-President. In most elections, all the electors vote in accordance with the pledge they made; it is not clear what would happen in the unlikely event that a large number of electors violated their pledge and voted differently.
 Normally, one of the candidates for President receives a majority (more than half) of the electoral votes; that person is elected President. That candidate's vice-presidential running mate will then also receive a majority of electoral votes (for Vice-President), and that person is elected Vice-President.