Politics of the United States takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of the United States is head of state, head of government, and of a two-party legislative and electoral system. The federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments, with the Supreme Court balancing the rights of each.
The executive branch is headed by a president and is independent of the legislature. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Judicial power is exercised by the judicial branch (or judiciary), comprised of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts. The judiciary's function is to interpret the United States Constitution as well as the federal laws and regulations. This includes resolving disputes between the executive and legislative branches. The federal government of the United States was established by the Constitution. American politics has been dominated by two parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, ever since the American Civil War, though other minor parties of lesser political significance have also always existed.
Major differences between the political system of the United States and that of most other developed democracies are the power of the Senate as the upper house of the legislature, the wide scope of power of the Supreme Court, the separation of powers between the legislature and the executive government, and the dominance of the two main parties - the United States being the only developed democracy without a major third party.
After the primaries and caucuses are over, each political party holds a convention at which their presidential and vice presidential nominees are formally selected.
Democrats will meet in Denver, Colorado, from August 25-28 at the downtown Pepsi Center.
Republicans will meet in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, from September 1-4 at the RiverCentre / Xcel Energy Center.
Party conventions were once smoke-filled settings for backroom deals where the nominees emerged after long negotiations and multiple floor votes.
With nominations sewn up during the primaries and caucuses, the modern convention is essentially an opportunity for party activists to network and for the party to unify after the primary season and get its message out ahead of the final sprint to Election Day.
Election Day and Beyond
The presidential prize is in sight as the nation's registered voters head to the polls on the first Tuesday in November to decide who'll lead the country.
November 4 is Election Day in 2008, with polls opening as early as midnight in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, and finally closing in Hawaii and Alaska.
Although polls across the country are open on one day, the election is not a national poll but a series of 51 state-level elections that decide the members of the Electoral College. Technically, voters aren't choosing a candidate but a slate of electors who have pledged to vote for that candidate when the Electoral College meets.
The candidate who wins the most votes in each state normally wins all of that state's electoral votes. With 538 electors up for grabs, the candidate with more than half -- 270 -- wins the presidency. The number of electors from each state equals the number of senators and representatives the state sends to Congress. If no candidate receives 270 electors, the House of Representatives decides who the next president will be.
The Electoral College meets in December to formalize the election, although the results are usually known soon after the election, and preparations already have begun for a presidential transition (if necessary) and the inaugural ceremony on the Capitol steps on January 20.
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