How Do Political Agreements Work?
Republicans are holding their national convention this week and the Democratic national convention next week. After months of debate and public speaking, the bipartisan presidential candidates will be carved in stone. However, this is just the beginning of the fun. This is what happens at these conventions.
Congresses are needed to select candidates and rally the party
Simply put, a political convention is where each party comes together to select its candidate for president. Since both major political parties use a series of primaries to allow voters to contribute to the process, the convention itself is largely a formality. At this point, it is almost definitively clear that Hillary Clinton will represent the Democrats and Donald Trump will represent the Republicans on the November ballot.
Of course, nominating an already accepted candidate does not take into account the four-day convention. The parties will also hold meetings and discussions to clarify their party’s platform and revitalize their voting base. The platform consists of key questions and objectives (often called “ boards ”) that the party is working to achieve. You can find the current Republican platform here and the Democratic platform here .
Party platforms are not as important as they seem. In the days leading up to the selection of candidates for the primaries, the party’s platform served as a barrier against which a candidate could be measured . A candidate who has not joined the platform is unlikely to be nominated. This is clearly not the case these days, as both current candidates won by campaigning directly with voters. It’s still worth looking out for any new changes to your party’s platform (for example, the RNC is adding porn as a public health crisis to its party’s platform) to see where its leadership is heading, but these days, individual politicians are more free to step back from their own. a party on certain topics.
Finally, a lot of performances. Traditionally, the current and past presidents speak. At the Democratic convention next week, President Obama and former President Clinton will deliver speeches. Former presidents will not speak at the Republican convention this week, but we will hear from Speaker Paul Ryan, as well as former Trump rivals Ted Cruz and Ben Carson. Sometimes speaking at conventions can lead to much more serious political prospects in the future.
If you understand that no major changes or decisions are taking place at the congress, you are somewhat right. In the past, conventions were much more important. Previously, the party leaders used to decide among themselves who would be a candidate, and presented this candidate and his qualifications to the voting public for evaluation at the general elections. They are now used to drawing attention to their problems and rallying their base, but it is unlikely that any major upheaval will occur.
What is happening at the convention and what could have happened this year
The specific process for nominating a candidate in the two main parties is slightly different. Primaries and factional meetings are held in every state, so anyone can vote on who they think should be nominated for president. The results of these primaries give the candidate a certain number of announced delegates. During the first (and usually only) round of voting, announced delegates must vote for the candidate their country voted for.
In the Republican Party, this is more or less the whole process. If the candidate receives enough declared delegates, he wins the nomination, end of story. However, there are alsosuperdelegates in the Democratic Party. These delegates include all current Democratic members of Congress and governors, as well as other prominent party members. Superdelegates are not tied to any candidate and can vote for whoever they want, although superdelegates rarely oppose popular voting.
Despite a year of conflicting candidates and polarizing conflict, these conventions are likely to end predictably. However, a nuance in the convention’s rules may affect the nomination process. Here’s how complex these conventions can be, and how complex these rules could be this year:
- Republicans tried to untie delegates ahead of Trump’s appointment: Donald Trump is not exactly a unifying force within the Republican Party. Last week, some party members tried to pass a clause that would give delegates the opportunity to vote on their own conscience rather than the will of the voters they represent if they strongly oppose a candidate. The measure was rejected last Thursday .
- Some Sanders supporters hoped that the superdelegates would change their voices: for almost the entire race, Clinton held a strong lead thanks to the promised superdelegates. These voices could change at any time, which is why some Sanders supporters hoped the superdelegates would spin the race. While Clinton currently wins in the delegate count only on the basis of announced delegates , her advantage is large enough that superdelegates face a huge risk if they decide to change their votes. In addition, Sanders withdrew his candidacy and still supported Clinton , so the issue is moot.
- Both sides have almost participated in the agreements or challenged them: if a candidate cannot get enough delegates to stand for his candidacy, both sides can go to the second round of voting to select the candidate. They involve many transactions between party members and can have dramatic consequences for voters watching from home. However, there has been no brokered agreement since 1952. With Trump vying for the necessary majority of delegates and Bernie Sanders supporting Hillary Clinton , these scenarios are increasingly unlikely.
After all the turmoil at the beginning of the year and during the debate, it finally looks like the conventions for both sides will go smoothly. However, being unsurprising is not the same as being ideal. If you are unhappy with the way this year’s nomination process went (and there are many reasons to think so on both sides of the aisle), get involved and push for change in the general election, your local government, or the next electoral cycle. Most of the rules and procedures governing how elections are held start years in advance. Don’t wait until the last minute to start paying attention to politics.
Now it’s up to the general election
After the conventions were over, it was time to focus on the general election and the all-too-important question of who will occupy the White House, and with it the right to appoint Supreme Court justices, sign decrees and laws, and generally be the chief executive officer of the United States. … If you are not registered to vote, register now . If you are not familiar with the presidential candidates, start studying them now and find out about it .
Also, remember that in November you are not only voting for the president. Find your congressional representatives online , see which ones will be re-elected, and research the people running this year. That doesn’t even include local electoral initiatives, state and county officials, race, governors and representatives, even local sheriffs, judges and county clerks – this fall is likely to be crowded, and its consequences will be much closer to your home. The White house.
When it comes to conventions, for most of us they are not so much an event as a call to action. There will be a lot of speeches, a few awkward missteps, some controversial statements and a lot of news to watch out for, but the outcome is most likely a foregone conclusion. This means that there are four months left before the November elections: you have enough time to make an informed decision.