Saltar navegación

Activa JavaScript para disfrutar de los vídeos de la Mediateca.

Electing a US President in Plain English

Ajuste de pantalla

El ajuste de pantalla se aprecia al ver el vídeo en pantalla completa. Elige la presentación que más te guste:

Subido el 4 de noviembre de 2008 por EducaMadrid

848 visualizaciones

A short guide to understanding the U.S. election process.

Más información Transcripción

Descargar la transcripción

Every four years, Americans who are 18 or older have a big responsibility. 00:00:00
Our votes decide who becomes the President of the United States. 00:00:05
Unfortunately, the U.S. election system isn't that simple. 00:00:09
This is electing a U.S. President in plain English. 00:00:13
It's easy to imagine every U.S. citizen's vote being counted together on Election Day, 00:00:17
but this is not the case. 00:00:22
U.S. elections are not decided by the total or popular vote, but individual states. 00:00:24
Let me explain. 00:00:30
It starts with your vote. 00:00:31
On Election Day, you'll vote for President and their Vice President. 00:00:33
You get one choice. 00:00:37
Then, all the votes in your state are counted. 00:00:39
The candidate with the most statewide votes becomes the candidate your state supports for President. 00:00:42
This happens across the country until each state has selected their candidate. 00:00:48
We end up with most of the 50 states and the District of Columbia voting to support one candidate each. 00:00:53
But there's a problem. 00:00:59
We can't elect a President by just counting up the choices of these states. 00:01:01
U.S. states are different. 00:01:04
Consider this. 00:01:07
California has about 36 million people. 00:01:08
Kansas has less than 3 million. 00:01:11
We need a way for California's choice to have more influence on the election because the state has more people. 00:01:14
The question becomes, how do we make sure each state has the right amount of influence on the election? 00:01:20
Well, we need a way to account for the population of each state. 00:01:26
As an example, let's consider my home state of North Carolina. 00:01:31
Like every state, it is divided up into congressional districts that are based on population. 00:01:35
North Carolina has 13 districts, California has 53, and Kansas has 4. 00:01:41
When it comes to a state's influence on the election, the number of districts matters most. 00:01:47
More population equals more districts equals more influence. 00:01:52
The influence a state has in the election is measured by the number of electors. 00:01:57
This number comes from the number of districts in a state plus the number of U.S. Senators, which is always 2. 00:02:02
North Carolina has 15 electors, while California has 55. 00:02:10
When a candidate wins the voting in a state, they win that state's number of electors. 00:02:16
That's why big, populous states can be so important to candidates. 00:02:22
Their electors add up quickly, and the number of electors is what really matters. 00:02:26
Here's why. 00:02:31
If you add up the electors of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, there are 538 in total. 00:02:33
The candidate's goal on Election Day is to win the majority of 538, or 270 electors. 00:02:39
Once a candidate wins enough states to reach the 270 majority, they have won the election and become the President-Elect. 00:02:47
Yay! 00:02:55
So, let's recap. 00:02:57
Your vote helps your state choose a single candidate. 00:02:59
That candidate receives all the electors from your state. 00:03:03
The candidate who can win enough states to reach 270 total electors wins the national election and becomes the President-Elect. 00:03:06
Then, on the following January 20th, the President-Elect is sworn in as the next President of the United States. 00:03:14
And it all starts with your vote. 00:03:22
Make it count. 00:03:24
I'm Lee LeFever, and this has been Electing a U.S. President in Plain English on the Common Craft Show. 00:03:26
One more thing. 00:03:33
The Common Craft Store now offers downloadable versions of our videos for use in the workplace. 00:03:34
Find them at commoncraft.com slash store. 00:03:39
Valoración:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Eres el primero. Inicia sesión para valorar el vídeo.
Idioma/s:
en
Materias:
Inglés
Autor/es:
Common Craft
Subido por:
EducaMadrid
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
848
Fecha:
4 de noviembre de 2008 - 12:00
Visibilidad:
Público
Enlace Relacionado:
The Common Craft Show
Duración:
03′ 43″
Relación de aspecto:
1.24:1
Resolución:
425x344 píxeles
Tamaño:
4.87 MBytes

Del mismo autor…

Ver más del mismo autor

EducaMadrid, Plataforma Educativa de la Comunidad de Madrid

Plataforma Educativa EducaMadrid