By Syrian Democratic Times

The US Presidential Election will occur on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. A lot needs to happen before then. By popular request, here is a primer for beginners (or those just learning the US system), to help you understand what to expect during the election.

Voting is central to the US system, and nearly every US citizen can vote in the presidential election. Individuals who have committed crimes, however, may have had their right to vote taken away from them. In addition, citizens who are registered with a political party can vote in party elections – primary elections or caucuses.

The two main political parties in the United States are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. President Donald Trump is from the Republican Party. Candidates like Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and Michael Bloomberg are all in the Democratic Party or “the Democrats.” The Republicans are on the right, and they tend to be the conservatives and the nationalists. The Democrats are on the left, and they tend to be the liberals and the democratic-socialists. Many countries have ten or more popular political parties, but the United States has only these two major parties. Other parties do exist, such as the Green Party and the Libertarian Party, but these parties typically receive less than one percent of the vote.

The US has 50 states, such as California, Texas, Florida, Kansas, and New York. Each of these 50 states has its own state-level political party elections, a “primary” or a “caucus” to choose who their party candidate will be. Right now, from February 3 through June 6, each state will be engaged in these elections. Every state has a different date and a different process for conducting these elections – which are often just called “the primaries.”

During the primaries, you can expect to see Democratic candidates campaigning, running advertisements, and saying rude things about each other from time to time. Though they are all members of the same political party, it’s an election year, and right now they are all competitors on the same field.

The Democratic candidate will be chosen through the primaries, and the results of each of the state-level elections are usually certified during the Democratic National Convention from July 13 through July 16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

There is no debate over who the Republican candidate will be. The Republican Party will try to re-elect the current president, Donald Trump.

Election year in the United States is underway, and the once again world holds its breath to see who may assume control over the world’s current hegemon, and get the keys to the White House.