Elections in the United States
The United States has a federal government, with elected officials at federal (national), state and local level. On a national level, the head of state, the President, is elected indirectly by the people, through electors of an electoral college. In modern times, the electors virtually always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, Congress, are directly elected. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at local level, in counties and cities. It is estimated that across the whole country, over one million elected offices are filled in every electoral cycle. Both federal and state laws regulate elections. The United States Constitution defines (to a basic extent) how federal elections are held, in Article One and Article Two and various amendments.
