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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thunderfoot" data-source="post: 4233217" data-attributes="member: 34175">Kudos to all involved in this discussion!!!The information was correct, the questions were helpful and the answers informative, all while being civil.  As someone that has been on the ground floor of election operations at an early age (my step-father was a precinct committee member for a Southern Illinois precinct and the whole family was tied up in politics most of the year) I have yet to see any disinformation or anything that is 'wrong' about what has been put out.As kind of a summation there are two sets of elections in the country initial (for selecting candidates) and actual (for selecting electors to the electoral college).The initial elections are primaries and caucuses that allow the individual voter to decide on which candidates their party will run in the national and local elections on election day.  Primaries are strict votes, done in secret, usually by ballot, to either elect your party's candidate (in a closed primary) or in the case of open primaries, block other candidates from receiving the nomination.  In a caucus a 'straw poll' is taken to determine either delegates to the State convention or in some cases to regional or even the National conventions.In the actual elections every voter regardless of party can vote for any candidate, regardless of party affiliation (which why your party isn't asked of you at a National election) or any issue that is posted on the ballot.  Though rules vary from State to State, usually you may choose to vote for any, all or none (although why you showed up then I couldn't imagine) of the posted procedures (ie candidates or issues) on the Local, State and National level.  In the case of the National election your vote determines which electoral representatives are sent to the Electoral College to cast the representative vote for your candidate. (you hope, as once they are in the college an elector may choose to swing the opposite way, though it hasn't happened in US history yet due to the public lynching that would almost assuredly take place afterward.)And while it may seem like a lot of trouble for those that are not part of the process, this is one reason that we feel that our system works.  No one person can claim leadership without a fair and valid vote, no one may stay in office after a set number of years (ruling out a dictatorship) and if things go truly awry there are means in place to remove anyone that gets 'too big for their britches'.  While you may not agree with the policies of the person in office at any given time, unless those policies are truly criminal, truly inhumane or truly unconstitutional, the chances of seeing that person removed are slim. (Only two Presidents have ever been impeached Jackson and Clinton both survived the process, Nixon resigned before charges could be brought to bear)  Unpopular decisions are a requirement of the job (not just the President in the Executive branch but also those of the Representatives and Senators in the Legislative), as long as the Judicial branch finds them abiding to Constitutional Law, they stick.Long and drawn out, yes, but there are so many checks and balances that rarely are grossly negligent mistakes made, again unpopular, yes, negligent, not so much.</blockquote>

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