Elections in the United States select officials at federal, state, local, and tribal levels. The president is chosen indirectly: voters select slates of electors, and the Electoral College determines the winner. In nearly every state, the candidate with the most votes receives all electoral votes. A candidate can therefore win the presidency while losing the nationwide popular vote. Congress is elected directly, with 100 senators serving six-year terms and 435 House members serving two-year terms.
Most elections use first-past-the-post voting, in which the highest-polling candidate wins. Georgia uses a runoff system, while some cities and Maine use ranked-choice voting. Elections may also include primaries, caucuses, constitutional amendments, school boards, judges, sheriffs, and special districts—sometimes producing ballots with dozens of contests.
The system is highly decentralized. Although the Constitution sets federal parameters, state law governs most voting rules, including registration, primaries, ballot access, election dates, equipment, and eligibility. County and local officials frequently administer elections. Nearly every state requires registration, while federal law has encouraged easier registration through driver-licensing centers, schools, libraries, and mail services. Early voting and absentee or mail voting are widespread, though their rules differ.
American elections have long been shaped by arguments over voting rights, felony disenfranchisement, voter ID, campaign finance, gerrymandering, and unequal representation. Technology has shifted from paper and lever machines to optical scanners and digital systems. Critics also question election-night projections, partisan administration, foreign interference, and the Electoral College. Supporters of decentralization see local control as a safeguard; critics see a fragmented system that can make participation unequal and outcomes difficult to understand.