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For Your Information About the ElectionsThe 2020 U.S. elections are presidential elections. They are also elections for the entire House of Representatives, 435 members serving two-year terms, and one-third of the 100 member Senate, for six-year terms. The number of house representatives is based on state population, while each state has two Senators. The Office of the President, the main source of power for the ruling oligarchs, is the focus of attention. It is where the police powers reside and control over the cabinet and its many policing agencies. President Trump is seeking a second four-year term and former Vice-President Joe Biden is seeking to oust him. The Vice-Presidential candidates, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, are not actually elected but rather chosen by the presidential candidates and assume office as part of the presidential ticket. The unequal nature of the U.S. set-up is evident in the fact that there are 22 other presidential candidates, most of them unknown to most voters and not everyone can vote for them. These candidates have been blocked from the debates by the Presidential Commission which is composed of Democrats and Republicans and part of the cartel party system that discourages and blocks participation of anyone else. There are no such things as all-candidates debates. As well, due to various restrictions and requirements in each state, they are blocked from ballot access. Large amounts of human and financial resources are required to get on the ballot, with some states requiring tens of thousands of signatures in a very limited time period. As a result, in Vermont and Colorado there are 21 candidates on the ballot, Arkansas and Louisiana have 13 candidates each and all others have fewer than 13. In 12 states there are only three candidates on the ballot. Candidates are also blocked by the first-past-the-post system, which is used in nearly every state (only Maine and Nebraska use proportional representation, dividing the electoral votes according to vote totals in Congressional districts). This is combined with use of the Electoral College, in the hands of Democrats and Republicans, with each state getting electoral college votes based on the size of their population. The effect can be, as occurred in 2016, that the candidate with more votes can still lose. The state's electoral college votes go to whichever candidate receives a plurality of votes -- not a majority but a plurality. To secure the election, 270 electoral college votes are needed. For 2020, only two other candidates have gotten on the ballot in enough states to secure an electoral college win: Howie Hawkins of the Green Party and Jo Jorgensen of the Libertarians. Hawkins qualified in 47 states, 17 of them write-in which means that his name is not on the ballot but voters can write it in, with full name and correct spelling required. Jorgensen is on the ballot in 37 states. Both secured ballot access in states with larger numbers of electoral votes, such as California, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Florida and Texas. Hawkins' name was removed from the ballot in Pennsylvania, by the Democrats challenging his signatures, while Jorgensen remains on the ballot there. In addition, seven more candidates have qualified to appear on the ballot in five or more states: Don Blankenship, Constitution Party, 22 states, four of them write-in; Brian T. Carroll, American Solidarity Party, 23 states, 15 write-in; Roque De La Fuente, Alliance Party, 18 states, three write-in; Alyson Kennedy, Socialist Workers Party, six states; Gloria La Riva, Party for Socialism and Liberation, 22 states, seven write-in; Brock Pierce, Independent, 20 states, four write-in; Kanye West, Independent, 16 states, four write-in. House and SenateFor the House of Representatives, currently, those called Democrats are in the majority, 232, with 218 constituting a majority in the 435-member House. Those called Republicans have 197. It is expected that Democrats will keep their majority and perhaps increase it. Though House members serve only two-year terms, the large majority are routinely re-elected. The 2018 House elections, for example, saw only 89 new members, more than usual. As a result of the efforts of women to play a greater role in the political life of the country, there are 101 women, more than at any other time. In the Senate, there are currently 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats (Bernie Sanders and one other are listed as independent but vote Democrat). There are nine new Senators and 26 women Senators, also the most ever, with some up for re-election. Of the seats being contested 12 are currently held by Democrats, 23 by Republicans. No other parties are represented in Congress. Another aspect of the unequal nature of the elections is the micro-targeting that now takes place. Some people see almost no campaigning or ads as their states, for example New York and California, are seen as "safely" for one candidate or the other. In other states, hundreds of billions of dollars are pumped into TV, Facebook and other advertising. The main states considered "swing" states for the presidential contest are Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Arizona. For the Senate races, a handful of states are targeted. The Democrats are hoping to unseat Republicans in Iowa, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, North and South Carolina and Maine. Republicans are targeting Democratic Senate seats in Minnesota, Michigan and New Hampshire. Thus it can be seen that it is not a national election that takes place, with all voters on an equal footing, but rather a divisive exercise with targeting of particular states and even districts. Among the more significant of the Senate races for seats held by Republican Senators, where "unprecedented" funds are being pumped into the races by both candidates are: - Iowa: Joni Ernst, elected in 2014 and considered a key Trump ally who spoke on Trump's behalf at their convention, is facing Theresa Greenfield who has never held office. Prior to Ernst's election both Iowa Senators had held office for more than 30 years. - North Carolina: Thom Tillis, who like Ernst is a first-term Senator, is facing Cal Cunningham, an Army reserve officer who has not held office. The campaign could be the most expensive Senate race in history. Vice-President Pence is campaigning for Tillis and both are regularly at Trump events. - South Carolina: Lindsey Graham, a Senator since 2003, is facing African American Jaime Harrison. Harrison has not held office but was chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 2013 to 2017. Graham has significant power within the Senate as chair of the Judiciary Committee and member of the Budget, Appropriations and Foreign Relations Committees. - Maine: Susan Collins, elected to office in 1997, is facing Sara Gideon, currently Maine Speaker of the House. This is also considered one of the most expensive races, with more than $150 million spent. Gideon is far outspending Collins. It should be noted that both the Senate and House have largely been reduced to consultative bodies, where major legislation stalls and where the budget no longer serves as a means to sort out differences but rather intensifies splits, leading to government shut downs. It is also no longer useful to consider Democrats and Republicans as political parties, with coherence and concern for the public and its interests, but rather as part of a cartel serving narrow private interests. This was amply evident in the first presidential debate and the massive negative campaigning, with billions being spent to discredit the opposition rather than speak politically to the problems society faces. It is a set-up much hated by the public. Power, including the massive police powers and control over issues of war and peace are greatly concentrated in the Office of the President. It remains the prize for the vying factions of the oligarchs. (Voice of Revolution)
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