In order to run for president, a candidate must be at least 35 years old, be a natural born citizen of the United States, and have been a resident of the United States for 14 years.
A caucus is a meeting to select those who best fit what their party wants and represents. There is a lot of discussion and debating. In a primary, party members vote privately for who they think is the best candidate for the election.
Each party holds a convention, or a formal assembly, to finalize and announce their choice for a presidential nominee. The candidate announces their running mate for Vice President at these conventions.
This is the time when each candidate campaigns to try to get support from the general population. They give speeches, have debates, and visit many parts of the country. Americans vote on Election Day, which falls on the second Tuesday of November.
Each state has a certain number of electoral votes, depending on its number of representative in Congress. There are a total of 538 electoral votes, which are casted after the general election. The candidate who has 270 votes (just over half), wins the election.
On January 20th of the following year, the new president takes office. If the current president is reelected, there is still an inauguration to mark the beginning of a second term in office.