So you want to be President…

Formal qualifications

• Natural born citizen– Jus Solis – by soil

–Jus Sanguineous – by blood

Formal qualifications

• Minimum of 35 years of age

• Resident of the U.S for 14 years

Formal qualifications

Constitutional Restrictions

• 22nd Amendment–Limits any individual to two full terms

– Or ten years.

Legal Restrictions

• No convicted felons may be President

• Convicted felons lose their rights to hold public office

Informal Requirements – Voter Preferences

• Education level

• College

Informal Requirements

• Gender preference -male

Informal Requirements

• Ethnic Preference

• Voters want someone like themselves

• NW European

Informal Requirements

• Occupation

• Law

• Or business

Informal Requirements

• Political Experience

How does a qualified individual gets to be President ??

• A candidate receives a majority of presidential electors votes

Electoral College• Each state has

electors equal to the representation a state has in Congress

• House + Senate +D.C. = Electorial vote

Electoral College

• To win electoral votes a candidate must get popular votes to get all of a states’ electoral votes.

Electoral College

• Maine and Nebraska do not use the “winner take all” method.

• Both states use the district method.

1st2nd

2 for state winner

How to get on the ballot?

• Either be a major party (Dem or Rep) candidate

How to get on the ballot?

• Or – meet every states individual election laws.

Getting the party nomination.

• To get the party nomination a candidate must receive a majority of delegate votes at the Presidential Nominating Convention

Getting delegate votes

• A candidates gets delegates by winning state held primary elections

Getting delegate votes

• AND• Winning delegates at State conventions

State Convention

• Delegates to state convention are selected at local meetings called caucuses.