Ahead of the 2024 Presidential elections in the United States of America, USA, the Foreign Press Center, FPC is working with a select group of international journalists from across the globe to bring access to experts who can help them better understand the United States election.
The FPC explained that “contrary to many countries where voting is organized at the national level, in the American federalist system our elections processes are a state (and sub-state) competency. States, counties and other localities have various mechanics for casting, counting, and certifying votes”.
Worth noting that as the Americans head to the polls in November 2024 to elect the next US president, the next person sitting in the White House’s Oval office will have a big influence on people’s lives both at home and abroad, so the outcome of the election matters to everyone.
The first session of the Virtual Election Briefing Series had as guest Dr Bridgett King who took the participants on the topic, Election Briefing Series: How Candidates are selected.
During the session which took place on Zoom, Dr King explained to the participants how the federalist system structures the administration of elections and the state-driven processes by which American voters select candidates for general elections, whether it is a primary or a caucus.
She equally highlighted how the primary calendars are set, how delegates are awarded through these initial votes for later nomination conventions and why the system has evolved into this unique locally driven effort with national impact.
Enter Dr Bridgett King
Dr. Bridgett King, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the University of Kentucky’s Department of Political Science, where she teaches courses in state and local policy and governance, political behavior and institutions, public policy and elections.
Before joining University of Kentucky, Dr King was an associate professor at Auburn University and a voting rights researcher at the Brennan Center for Justice in the New York University School of Law.
Current overarching themes in her scholarship include; the administrative structure of felony disenfranchisement and its effect on participation and representation, citizen confidence in electoral outcomes and the consequences of administrative discretion on voter experiences and democratic representation.
She also works on interdisciplinary projects that apply systems and architectural engineering approaches to the field of election administration to address challenges associated with administrative decision-making and voter experiences.
Virtual Election Briefing series
The candidates were nominated by the United States Embassy in their various countries for the Virtual Election Briefing Series on behalf of the US State Departments Foreign Press Center.
The briefing times and dates will be varied from February to November 2024 through Zoom.
US Presidential Election 2024
The 2024 US Presidential election will take place on Tuesday, 5 November 2024. The winner will serve a term of four years in the White House starting in January 2025.
Former President Donald Trump is the frontrunner to be the Republican presidential nominee in the 2024 election, while President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party is in his campaign for a second term.