1. How does voting in the US work?

Voting in US elections happens in each state.  We elect our Federal leaders (President, Vice President, Senator, and House of Representative), our State government (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and state representative bodies) and our Local government (varies considerably). The US Constitution sets out the process by which we elect our President and Vice President that is called the “Electoral College.” As a result, each state runs their own election process, both for federal offices and state and local elections. Each state is allowed to set out similar but slightly different processes for elections. Elections take place in local geographic areas defined by their state–in some states it is by county, or precinct, or districts.  

Therefore, US citizens register to vote and cast their ballots at a local level, monitored and conducted by Local Election Officials.  Our website VoteFromAbroad.org walks an eligible voter through this process for when an American citizen is voting while living abroad and our website Students.VoteFromAbroad.org is designed to help study abroad students specifically.

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