Understanding American Elections

1. Fill in the blanks in the text. Use correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation! The United States of America is a federal state composed of 50 states . It is located in North America , between Canada and Mexico . The capital city is Washington , DC but the largest city is New York with 8 million inhabitants . The USA's national motto (=slogan) is "In God We Trust" . English and Spanish are the two most spoken languages . The USA is a very recent country : it gained its independence on July 4 1776 . The American president lives in the White House , in Washington , DC . 2. There are 2 main (=principal) political parties in the USA: the Republican party and the Democratic party.Classify the following info. Are you lost?Use this resource. Click on "The Republicans" and "The Democrats". The Democratic Party liberal political party (=in favour of social progress) Idea that the government should play a bigger role in people's lives Popular in more urban areas of the USA wants to take measures against climate change in favour of immigration Kamala Harris The Republican Party conservative political party Donald Trump Popular in more rural areas of the USA Wants lower taxes defends the right to bear a gun wants tighter (=stricter) restrictions on immigration 3. To be a candidate to the American presidential elections, one has to...(3 solutions) have been born in the USA be over 18 years old be over 35 years old have lived in the US for at least (=minimum) 14 years have lived in the US for at least 10 years. have a higher education degree (=a diploma from University)) 4. When will the elections take place this year? On Tuesday 3rd of December On Tuesday the 2nd of November On Tuesday the 20th of January 2021 On Tuesday the 5th of November 5. The presidential elections in the USA take place every... 4 years 5 years 6 years 7 years 6. To vote, one has to...(2 solutions) be over 18 be over 21 be a US citizen have lived in the USA for at least (minimum) 14 years 7. The number of electoral votes a state gets depends on... its size (big states get more votes) its population (populous states get more votes) its location (western states get more votes than eastern states) Every state gets the same number of electoral votes. 8. How many electoral votes are there in total? 518 electoral votes 528 electoral votes 538 electoral votes 548 electoral votes 9. How many votes does a candidate need to get to win the elections? 250 or more 270 or more 290 or more 300 or more 10. Do you understand the American electoral system?Fill in the blanks. American people's votes don't go directly to the candidate they have chosen. Their votes are used to determine who gets ALL the electoral votes in their state.For example, Florida has 29 electoral votes. If a majority of voters in Florida chooses Donald Trump (even a very short majority), he will get the 29 electoral votes and his rival, Joe Biden won't get any (=0 electoral votes!). 11. True or false? True It is possible for a candidate to get a majority of POPULAR votes and to lose the election. American people vote to elect a president and a vice-president. To win the election, a candidate has to get a majority of electoral votes. If elected, Donald Trump won't take office immediately. He will have to wait until January 20th to become officially president. False The two states with the highest number of electoral votes are California and Florida. The Inauguration ceremony takes place on the steps of the White House. The winner will be announced on the following morning of the election (November 4th). To win the elections, a candidate has to get a majority of popular votes. 12. The Americans will elect a new president but also new members of Congress.Congress is the part of the US government that writes and passes laws.What is it composed of? Fill on this infographic. (Note: Use correct capitalization!) Senate House of Representatives