Every four years, the winner of the United States presidential election is sworn into office on January 20.
The date is commonly referred to as Inauguration Day and is landmark day in global politics. The winner of the past November’s presidential election takes the traditional oath of office which is written in to the U.S. Constitution.
Some details of the U.S. election process may be difficult for children to understand. One day, our children will be voters making it important that they have a basic understanding the U.S. political structure as they develop.
Here are some important notes on the basics of the U.S. election process and inauguration to share with your children.
Voting
Each person in the United States gets to vote in an election each November that decides all of the individuals that make up the local and national government. Every four years, there is a vote for the President of the United States of America, the leader of our country.
Electoral College
Because some states are bigger and have more people than others, the Electoral College helps determine the winner of the presidential election. Each state gets a number of votes; the bigger the state, the more votes they get. The nominee that gets more votes from the electoral college is the winner.
Inauguration
After a winner is chose, the winner spends about two months picking their cabinet, which are the people the President is going to work with for the next four years. After the cabinet members are picked, the President is sworn into office and officially begins their four-year team.
