In The News

Why is the US election important?

Published: 25th October 2024
Updated: 14th November 2024

On 5 November, people in the US headed to the polls to decide who they wanted to be their next president, with the whole world watching. But why should we care?

Why is the US election important?

3 things to discuss with your kids

  1. Why might people in other countries care about the result of the US election?
  2. What qualities do you think make a good leader, and why?
  3. Why do you think it’s important for people to vote in big elections like the one in the US?

What is going on?

Every four years, the US get to vote for their next president. The current president, Joe Biden, isn’t standing again despite only serving one four-year term.

Since 1951, the US Constitution (a set of rules that the country is run by) has said that a person can only be elected as president twice. The only president to have ever served more than two terms is Franklin D Roosevelt, who won four elections in a row from 1932, although he died just a few months after winning the 1944 election.

With Joe Biden out of the race the choice was between the current vice president, the Democratic Party’s Kamala Harris, or the Republican Party’s Donald Trump, who’s been president once before.

There were also some independent candidates, but they are always very unlikely to win as they normally get only a small percentage of the vote. The US has only ever had one president who didn’t belong to a political party: George Washington, who was the first ever president, back in 1789!

 

Why should we care?

  • Influence in global politics: Although there are countries around the world that are very negative towards the US, the country has a lot of power and money, which give it a huge influence in global politics. That’s especially relevant to the Middle East conflict right now, as the US has been the main supporter of Israel for many years, which has allowed Israel to build up its military and defend itself from attacks.
  • Trading Partners: The US and UK trade a lot of things, from clothes to tech to food. The president’s decisions can impact the price and availability of things we buy and sell.
  • Strong Allies: Our two countries are close allies, helping each other in defense and security. The election can change how we work together to keep both countries safe.

 

iStock: The White House is where the president of the United State lives. Who will be moving in soon?

How does it work?

The US election is complicated, but each of the 50 states have their own elections. People’s votes technically go towards choosing ‘electors’, and there are 538 in total across the country. That means a candidate needs to get the votes of 270 electors to become president.

Most of the states lean towards Democrat or Republican and are unlikely to change. So, the result is only really in doubt in a handful of ‘battleground’ or ‘swing’ states. These are states that in the past had moved between support for the Democrats and the Republicans. The seven states that could decide the result this year are Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

 

Getty: Donald Trump is a former US president up for election as the Republican candidate

Who were the candidates?

The two candidates were Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris. Here are a few quick facts:

Donald Trump

  • Age: 78
  • Policies: Trump’s ‘20 core promises’ include to seal the borders and stop the “migrant invasion”; “prevent World War Three”; cancel the government’s targets for electric vehicles; and to cut the taxes that ordinary workers pay.
  • Experience: He was president from 2017 to 2021, but before that had no political experience. His term in office included having to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kamala Harris

  • Age: 60
  • Policies: Harris says she wants to lower energy costs and tackle the climate crisis; invest in affordable childcare; bring down the cost of healthcare; stop big business from unreasonably increasing the cost of groceries; and she says she wants to lower taxes for working people.
  • Experience: She’s the current vice president and, before that, was a senator for the state of California. She has also been the state’s top legal advisor.

Getty: Kamala Harris is the Democrat candidate and current vice-president in the US

Find out more!

To read more insightful pieces that could be discussed with your children, visit the Talking Points section of our website.

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