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==Elections== {{Further|Elections in the United States}} [[File:Election Day 2020 (50564518207).jpg|thumb|Voters cast ballots for the [[2020 United States elections|2020 elections]] at [[Roosevelt High School (Iowa)|Roosevelt High School]] in [[Des Moines, Iowa]].]] [[File:Suffragists Parade Down Fifth Avenue, 1917.JPG|thumb|[[Women's suffrage in the United States|Women's suffragists]] parade in New York City in 1917, carrying placards with the signatures of more than a million women<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nytstore.com/Suffragists-Parade-Down-Fifth-Avenue--1917_p_5258.html|title=Suffragists Parade Down Fifth Avenue - 1917|date=1917|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>]] As in the [[United Kingdom]] and in other similar [[parliamentary system]]s, in the U.S. Americans eligible to vote, vote for an individual candidate (there are sometimes exceptions in local government elections){{NoteTag| * Such as in elections of members of boards where voters are asked to select more than one candidate for an office<ref>in this ballot voters are asked to vote for two school board candidates, {{cite web |title=My Ballot |publisher=Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon |url=https://myballotmn.sos.state.mn.us/MyBallot.aspx?MNData=2PtEuJWNGWgAWYFUEFRVrYwZ4fEYBF5VpU4fg8EOz117oiDA8gKNbm7M3rGGxI6R3LPMI0%2bFThWRyI1fBwudLpEfpLJusNn4RzYkA%2bOKOMLBkvhY7%2bN7CdwzaktMx9IKUCHJ9ZQWOq5PNRJQJ5qGrEHgrmX31VeywNJF5eN4hY1mtrp13%2buwL7FT8Cg3oUbVOjOWJi5C8zsvXXVeSxOHrA%3d%3d |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> * and in those few but growing number of areas where [[Ranked-choice voting in the United States|ranked choice is used in the United States]] }} and not a party list. The U.S. government being a federal government, officials are elected at the federal (national), state and local levels. All members of [[United States Congress|Congress]], and the offices at the state and local levels are directly elected, but the president is elected indirectly, by an [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] whose electors represent their state and are elected by popular vote. (Before the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Seventeenth Amendment]] was passed, Senators were also elected indirectly, by state legislatures.) These presidential electors were originally expected to exercise their own judgement. In modern practice, though, the electors are chosen by their party and pledged to vote for that party's presidential candidate (in rare occurrences they may violate their pledge, becoming a [[faithless elector]]). Both federal and state laws regulate elections. The [[United States Constitution]] defines (to a basic extent) how federal elections are held, in [[Article One of the United States Constitution|Article One]] and [[Article Two of the United States Constitution|Article Two]] and various [[List of amendments to the United States Constitution|amendments]]. [[U.S. state|State]] law regulates most aspects of electoral law, including primaries, the eligibility of voters (beyond the basic constitutional definition), the running of each state's electoral college, and the running of state and local elections. === Suffrage === {{Main|History of civil rights in the United States|Voting rights in the United States}} Who has the right to vote in the United States is regulated by the Constitution and federal and state laws. [[Suffrage]] is nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older. Voting rights are sometimes [[felony disenfranchisement in the United States|restricted as a result of felony conviction]], depending on the state.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wolf |first1=Zachary B. |title=The Electoral College, explained |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/01/politics/what-is-electoral-college-history-explained/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=April 8, 2021 |date=3 November 2020}}</ref> The District, and other U.S. holdings like [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Guam]], do not have the right to choose any political figure outside their respective areas and can only elect a [[Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives|non-voting delegate to serve in the House of Representatives]]. All states and the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] contribute to the electoral vote for president. ===Campaign finance=== {{Main|Campaign finance in the United States}} [[File:Political donations.webp|thumb|400px|right|Political donations by major donors in the US 2020 elections]] Successful participation, especially in federal elections, often requires large amounts of money, especially for television advertising.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/pubfund.shtml |title=Public funding of presidential elections}}</ref> This money can be very difficult to raise by appeals to a mass base,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/sep/28/recession-means-theres-less-money-campaigns/|title=Recession means there's less money for political campaigns |first=Michael|last=Mishak|date=September 28, 2009|website=Las Vegas Sun}}</ref> although appeals for small donations over the Internet have been successful.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.america.gov/st/usg-english/2008/July/20080710130812mlenuhret0.6269953.html |title=Connect with America }}</ref> Opponents of campaign finance laws allege they interfere with the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]'s guarantee of free speech. Even when laws are upheld, the complication of compliance with the First Amendment requires careful and cautious drafting of legislation, leading to laws that are still fairly limited in scope, especially in comparison to those of other developed democracies such as the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]] or [[Canada]].
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