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Nicola Alpe: A Kiwi's guide to the US election

4 minutes to read

NZ Herald

OPINION:

This week I write with hope. Soon, three topics that have dominated conversation may dwindle to one.

With our election mere days ago we are over that, and with Covid limping along, it's down to the US elections.

This time next week, results will be pouring in and many will be waiting nervously to see if Florida is red or blue.

As if we are political aficionados, we're asked a lot of questions, so here is a rundown.

People say they can't believe that Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the only candidates America can produce. Well, believe it. Rolling a party leader is unheard of, so situations like Jacinda Ardern steamrolling Andrew Little weeks out are off.

As for Biden, he is relatively moderate (60+ per cent tax notwithstanding) and the Democrat powers knew that putting in Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren would never flip moderate Republicans blue.

Congress is comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 435 representatives in the House, a two-year term and every seat is up for election in 2020.

Representatives are allocated according to population. California, population nearly 40m, has 53 representatives and Wyoming, population around 578,000, has one. In the Senate these two states have equal representation with each state entitled to two senators. Fair?

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The Senate was designed so that populous states couldn't wield excessive control, but some say it's unfair small populations have the same influence. The nearly 600,000 residents of Washington DC have "taxation without representation", with no representatives in the Senate because DC is a federal district not a state.

Before the carbon-belching cross-country flights of the Presidential campaign, there are the Primaries. The voters indicate their preference for Presidential candidate instead of the party choosing the leader as New Zealand does. Thirteen states and DC have closed primary elections, where you must be registered as a member of one party to vote in that party's primary. Registered Independents cannot vote.

Semi-closed primaries allow Independents to choose on the day who they will vote for and allows others to register or change their preference on election day. Open Primaries mean that anyone can vote irrespective of their party affiliation.

Electoral College votes are equal to the number of representatives and senators that state has in Congress. California gets 55 (53 + 2), and Wyoming 3 (1 + 2). In 48 states plus DC, votes are allocated entirely to the popular vote winner of that state. It is supposed to ensure that more populated states do not dominate an election but it's also disproportionate to the population.

For example, California has roughly one vote per 700,000 people, while Wyoming has one vote per 200,000, so candidates have to work harder per electoral vote in California than Wyoming. This year, Florida and Pennsylvania, with 29 and 20 votes respectively, are considered two of the six swing states. Expect extra attention on those states during election night coverage.

In addition to these, citizens are voting on a dizzying array of Governors, State Senators, Attorneys General, Propositions and other positions. It's a lot to read up on and participate in, then mid-term elections are only two years away.

If knowing all this and being interested by it sounds boring, then so be it. With much of our news and some of our landscape dominated by what the US President is doing, signing up to, or checking out of, it pays to know a little background.

If all else fails and you are still confused, watch Veep. It's a brilliant satire of the system. Just make sure the kids are in bed.