Who Can Be President
✱ Did you know that anyone who is born a citizen of the
United States can grow up and become president?
✱ Yep, it’s true. In this country, there are only 3
How t o T a l k t o requirements for president. The president must:
o be a natural born citizen,
o be at least 35 years old, and
u t . . .
o have lived in the United States for 14 or more years.
Kids A b o ✱ And, of course, the president must win a presidential
election!
✱ All elections have rules. The rules for electing the
president are found in the U.S. Constitution.
…ELECTING THE
PRESIDENT AND THE Electing the President . . .
ELECTORAL COLLEGE ✱ Every citizen who is 18 years old or older may vote in
the U.S. presidential election.
✱ On Election Day, voters go to a community building—
often a school, a recreation center, or a church— to
A Quick Reference Guide
cast their ballots in person. Alternatively, voters may
vote by “absentee ballot”, meaning that they may mail
in their ballots prior to Election Day.
for Conversations and ✱ In the year leading up to the presidential election,
Activities with Kids
voters participate in primaries or caucuses to select the
nominees for president of the major political parties.
✱ The United States has a “secret ballot.” This means ✱ On Election Day, it might seem as if voters are
that voters cast their ballots in private and do not put participating in one big nationwide election. But that
their names on their ballots. Unless a voter chooses isn’t really what they are doing.
to tell people which candidate he or she selected, the
choice is secret. This allows each voter to choose the ✱ Instead, voters are participating in separate state-by-
person he or she thinks best for America without fear state elections for president that take place on the
of punishment, condemnation, or embarrassment. same day.
✱ In the United States, presidential elections are held ✱ For example, when a resident of New York casts his
every four years. or her ballot, they are voting in the New York state
presidential election. The candidate who receives the
✱ “Political parties” are groups of people who share most votes in the state of New York is New York’s
similar ideas about how our country should be choice for president.
governed. For most of our history, there have been
two major political parties. Today, the two major
The Electoral College . . .
parties are the Democrats and the Republicans.
✱ Once the parties have nominated their candidates for
president, the race really begins! ✱ Under our Constitution, each state votes for
president in what has come to be called the
✱ The nominees for president and vice president try “Electoral College.”
to persuade citizens to vote for them in November
by, among other things, participating in debates, ✱ Despite its name, the Electoral College isn’t a college
delivering speeches, running advertisements, and or a school of any sort. It isn’t’ even a location at
hosting events. all! Rather, the Electoral College is the name of the
process by which we determine the winner of the U.S.
presidential election.
Election Day . . . ✱ After counting all the ballots cast in the state, state
officials appoint “electors” who have promised to
✱ The U.S. presidential election is held on the first vote for the winner of the state popular vote. (Two
Tuesday of November in each of the fifty states and states, Maine and Nebraska, assign electors by
the District of Columbia. congressional district.)
✱ Not all states have the same number of electors (or ✱ The Electoral College ensures that presidents win
votes) in the Electoral College. The number of electors support from different types of voters—a diverse
depends on how many people live in the state. group of Americans. This is particularly important in a
nation as large and diverse as ours.
✱ Every state has at least three electors (or votes).
But bigger states have more electors because they
Does the Most Popular
have more people. Wyoming, for example, is sparsely
populated, so it has the minimum of 3 electors. New
York has more people, so it has 29 electors.
✱ The total number of electors nationwide is 538.
Candidate Win?
(This number reflects the total number of Senators ✱ Usually, but not always. The U.S. presidential election
and Representatives that all of the states have in is not supposed to be a popularity contest. It’s a
Congress, plus 3 electors for the District of Columbia, contest to see who can get support from across the
which is not a state.) country.
✱ The candidate who receives a majority of electoral ✱ Every once in a while, the candidate with the most
votes (270 or more) is the winner of the U.S. votes overall doesn’t win enough state elections to
presidential election! win the presidency. But this happens rarely.
✱ Think of the U.S. presidential election like the baseball
Why Do We Do It This Way? World Series: The champion is the team that wins the
most games, not the team that scores the most runs.
✱ The Electoral College system requires the president to ✱ In baseball, as in presidential politics, the team with
win a number of different states across the country, not the most runs overall usually wins the World Series.
just a handful of states or states from one region of the But not always. In the 1960 World Series between
country. This ensures that the president will look out the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees, the
for the whole country, not just certain sections of it. Yanks scored more runs overall than the Pirates, but
This makes us truly a nation of United States. the Pirates won 4 out of 7 games and were, therefore,
the 1960 World Series champions. (The Pirates won
✱ Without the Electoral College, a candidate could four close games, with scores of 6–4, 3–2, 5–2, and
even become president if 47 of the 50 states chose 10–9, while the Yankees, won three blowout games,
someone else. That doesn’t seem fair, does it? with scores of 16–3, 10–0, and 12–0.)
✱ Four times in our nation’s history, the presidential
candidate who received the most votes nationwide
did not win the Electoral College. Why? Because he or
she did not win in enough states.
Further Reading for Kids
✱ Grace For President by Kelly DePucchio.
A charming book that explains the two party system
Fun Activities to Learn
and Electoral College in an understandable and
entertaining way. (young readers)
About Elections and the ✱ We Elect A President by Tara Ross. A beautifully
illustrated history of the Electoral College. (elementary
Electoral College school kids)
✱ Presidential Elections and Other Cool Facts by Syl
✱ Ask your children to research a presidential candidate Sobel. A clear and detailed explanation of presidential
and write a short report on the candidate’s platform elections and some interesting tidbits about the
or have them draw a campaign poster. people who have held the office of president.
(elementary/middle school readers)
✱ Have your children draw and color their own voter
registration card, complete with a self-portrait. ✱ Presidential Elections Grades 3-5 A good workbook
for homeschoolers or parents who like to supplement
✱ Take your children with you to vote so they can see their children’s education.
the process in action.
✱ Have your children and their friends dress up in
costumes to stage a political debate. The subject For more
doesn’t actually have to be political. Have them
argue over what’s better—cookies or brownies, cake
How to Talk to
or pie, the color yellow or orange, Superman or
Superwoman. Have fun with it!
✱ Show your kids Article II, Section I of the Constitution, Kids About...
which outlines the process for electing the president
of the United States. iwf.org/how-to-talk-to-kids
