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By starting with the words “We the People,” the Preamble to the US Constitution suggests that the Constitution created derived its power from the people; yet it also, in some ways, implies exclusion of non- citizens.

' We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.'

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B.THIS IS WHAT A 2020 ABSENTEE BALLOT LOOKS LIKE

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B.THIS IS WHAT A 2020 ABSENTEE BALLOT LOOKS LIKE

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(This document will only open on a PC)

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How to Become President of the United States

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The Republican candidate and his running mate: Donald Trump, now called lame-duck president,  and Mike Pence.
The Democratic candidate and his running mate: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.They are now called the president-elect and the vice-president-elect until Joe Biden's inauguration on 20th January.

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The origins of the Democratic donkey can be traced to the 1828 presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson. During that race, opponents of Jackson called him a jackass=a male ass or donkey. However, rather than rejecting the label, Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812 who later served in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, was amused by it and included an image of the animal in his campaign posters.

The Republican Party was formed in 1854 and six years later Abraham Lincoln became its first member elected to the White House. An image of an elephant was featured as a Republican symbol in at least one political cartoon and a newspaper illustration during the Civil War (when “seeing the elephant” was an expression used by soldiers to mean experiencing combat), but the pachyderm didn’t start to take hold as a GOP symbol until Thomas Nast, who’s considered the father of the modern political cartoon, used it in an 1874 Harper’s Weekly cartoon.

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Political polarization, that is a widening gap between conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, is a characteristic of American politics today.So what are the differences between the two parties?
THE DEMOCRATS

They are seen as:

supporting African-Americans and ethnic minorities -especially latinos.

favouring federal and state support in employment, education and health.(la santé)

Preferring civil liberties to  focusing on crime (la criminalité)

favouring women's rights

having a more permissive attitude regarding sexuality -lgtb and gay rights, same-sex marriage-and culture .

THE REPUBLICANS

They are seen as:

having more conservative and traditional attitudes regarding minorities,sexuality, culture.

Opposing taxes, redistribution, government intervention. ('Big Government' : too much federal govenment intervention).

not considering minority rights should be protected.

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Since the 2000 United States presidential election, red states and blue states have referred to states of the United States whose voters predominantly choose either the Republican Party (red) or Democratic Party (blue) presidential candidates.

Click on the map to see the number of great electors in each state.You can also see the latest results on the website.

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Download Map

Our interactive presidential election map is currently based on the consensus of the following forecasts and polling data:

Make Your Own Electoral Forecast

To create your own forecast for the 2020 election, click on the states in the map to toggle them between Democrat, Republican and Tossup and watch the electoral map tallies change. You can even download your custom map and even share it on social media.

We'll be updating the consensus map as more forecasts come in. Check back often or sign up for our email list.

If you prefer, you can also use the 2016 electoral map or the 2018 midterm election vote as the starting point for your own electoral forecast.

It Takes 270 to Win

The winner of the presidential election must win the majority of the electoral votes - that is at least 270 out of the 538 available.

Because most states allocate their electoral votes on an "winner-take-all" basis - the exceptions being Maine and Nebraska, which split their electoral votes by congressional district - the candidate who wins enough states to reach 270 electoral votes becomes president.

Winning the national popular vote doesn't matter, as we saw most recently in the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections where the winner of the popular vote actually lost the election. That's led to many efforts to reform the Electoral College over the years.

There is actually one way to win the presidency without getting 270 electoral votes. If the election results in a 269 to 269 electoral vote tie, then the House of Representatives convenes to choose the president.

The 2020 Map Begins with Florida

In 2016, Donald Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by roughly three million people but won 304 electoral votes and the presidency. Based on recent polling, his chances of winning the popular vote in 2020 are at least as challenging as they were in 2016.

That suggests his best hope for re-election might be to once again assemble an Electoral College majority without winning the popular vote.

Any review of the various 2020 Electoral College combinations should begin with Florida, a state key to all presidential fortunes since the 2000 presidential election.

If Trump were to win Florida again, Democrats would need to recapture three Midwestern states in the Rust Belt - or find substitutes - to win the presidency. If Democrats win Florida, any one of the three Rust Belt states would secure the presidency, unless Trump can pick off another blue state that Democrats won in 2016.

Rust Belt vs. Sun Belt?

The key to President Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election was that he carried three "Rust Belt" states that many expected Democrats to win: Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton was so sure of her victory in these states that she didn't even campaign in Wisconsin.

Trump won these three states by less than a combined 80,000 votes, or just .06% of the 137 million votes cast. But that was still enough to get Trump to the 270 to win.

It's obvious by playing with the interactive electoral map that if Democrats can flip all three states back to their column in 2020, then they can win the election (assuming they hold all of the other states Hillary Clinton won in 2016.)

But if Democrats lose all three states again, then they would need another path to the presidency. Some say Democrats could pursue a "Sun Belt" strategy and perhaps win Florida plus North Carolina, Arizona, Texas or Georgia. All of those states went to Trump in 2016, but there are some indications from early polling that at least some might be among the battleground states in play in 2020.

A Changing Electoral Map

In recent modern elections, there have been a dozen or more truly competitive battlegrounds which could result in many various paths to 270 electoral votes.

That's changed in recent years as polarization has increased, resulting in red and blue strongholds with bigger victory margins. For instance, despite the narrow popular vote margin in 2016, more than two dozen states were decided by margins of 15 percentage points or more. In 1988, when the popular vote margin was seven percentage points, there were just 17 states which were won by such big margins.

One way of looking at how the electoral map has changed in recent years is to evaluate which states are most likely to provide the electoral votes needed to secure 270.

During the 2008 and 2012 elections won by Barack Obama, Virginia and Colorado were the tipping point states. But because of Democratic gains among college-educated voters in these states, both have moved sharply toward the Democrats in recent years.

In contrast, even though Ohio was the most important battleground in the 2004 election, underlying trends have moved it towards the Republicans in recent elections.

In 2020, many political analysts think that Wisconsin, where Democrats will hold their national convention in 2020, could prove to be the tipping point state in a close election.

The 2018 Midterms Were a Warning for Trump

For President Trump, the best path for re-election is the exact same one that handed him the presidency in 2016.

But Trump got a major warning sign during the 2018 midterm elections when the three all-important Rust Belt states delivered big victories to Democrats.

Democrats in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan swept the races for Senate and governor, and picked up valuable House seats, defeating Trump-backed Republicans at all levels.

Whether this was a fleeting backlash or a preview of the 2020 electoral map remains to be seen, but the outcome in those key states will be important to watch as the campaign progresses.

2020 Presidential Election News

Here are the latest headlines on the 2020 presidential race from Political Wire:

Put the Electoral Vote Map On Your Site

Use the code below to put the Electoral Vote Map on your site. When the consensus forecast changes, the map will automatically change on your site too!

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2020 Presidential Election Interactive Map - Electoral Vote Map

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Download Map Our interactive presidential election map is currently based on the consensus of the following forecasts and polling data: To create your own forecast for the 2020 election, click on the states in the map to toggle them between Democrat, Republican and Tossup and watch the electoral map tallies change.

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Watch Kamala Harris' full victory speech

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Joe Biden's victory speech in full: 'We must restore the soul of America'

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Pictures from all over the US.

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Almost as soon as Joe Biden was declared the President-elect, narrowly defeating President Trump, celebrations broke out across America.

The sudden joy and relief following an anxious four-day wait for presidential election results was offset by anger, sadness and frustration from Trump supporters.

NPR worked with photographers around the country to capture a divided nation's mood. Here's what they saw.

New York City

Austin, Texas

Atlanta:

Boston

Minneapolis

Washington, D.C.

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PHOTOS: After 2020 Election, A Nation Divided Reacts

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Almost as soon as Joe Biden was declared the President-elect, narrowly defeating President Trump, celebrations broke out across America. The sudden joy and relief following an anxious four-day wait for presidential election results was offset by anger, sadness and frustration from Trump supporters. NPR worked with photographers around the country to capture a divided nation's mood.

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D.AN EMOTIONAL MOMENT FOR SOME AMERICANS

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D.AN EMOTIONAL MOMENT FOR SOME AMERICANS

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Van Jones is a commentator for CNN.

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Van Jones breaks down in tears as election is called for Joe Biden

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A.THE LAME-DUCK PRESIDENT'S REACTION -A PARODY 

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A.THE LAME-DUCK PRESIDENT'S REACTION -A PARODY 

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Trump’s Concession Speech - 2020 Election Parody

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B.JOE BIDEN'S COMMENT ON DONALD TRUMP NOT CONCEDING

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B.JOE BIDEN'S COMMENT ON DONALD TRUMP NOT CONCEDING

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Joe Biden said Donald Trump's refusal to concede the election was "an embarrassment", vowing to move forward with the presidential transition despite resistance from the White House and Republican leaders.

Biden, answering questions for the first time since he was declared the winner of the 2020 election, intensified his criticism of the president, who continued to baselessly allege voter fraud, and said Trump's denial would "not help his legacy".
Boris Johnson phones to congratulate Joe Biden and discuss 'close' relationship
Though the situation at the White House has caused deepening alarm over whether the US would witness a smooth transfer of power that has been a hallmark of American democracy for generations, Biden promised his team was "going to get right to work" confronting the compounding crises facing the nation.

Pointing to unfounded claims of voter fraud, Trump, with the support of senior Republicans in Washington, has maintained that the election is not over and is contesting the results in several states, despite it being called for Biden on Saturday morning almost four days after the polls closed.

In a call with reporters on Monday, transition officials said the General Services Administration had yet to issue a letter of "ascertainment" that would recognize Biden as the president-elect and allow his team to begin the transfer of power.

Until the decision is made, Biden's staff cannot meet with their counterparts in the White House and other federal agencies, begin to perform background checks for potential appointees or receive security briefings.

Biden insisted the delay "does not change the dynamic at all of what we're able to do". Receiving the intelligence briefings that are traditionally shared with the incoming president "would be useful," he said, but added: "We don't see anything slowing us down, quite frankly."

Biden was joined by the vice-president-elect, Kamala Harris, at a theater near his home in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, where they delivered remarks after the US supreme court heard the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act.

The Democratic leadership have vowed to protect and expand the signature legislation from the Obama administration, in which Biden served as vice-president, during the worst public health crisis in more than a century.

The US recently surpassed 10m cases of coronavirus, as most states struggled to contain outbreaks during the latest wave of infections.

"In the middle of a deadly pandemic that's affecting more than 10 million Americans, these ideologues are once again trying to strip health coverage away from the American people," Biden said of the Republican state officials who brought the lawsuit that has ended up before the supreme court, aiming to invalidate the healthcare law.

Democrats made healthcare a central theme of the election, and a focus of the supreme court hearing last month for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, whose confirmation cemented a 6-3 conservative court.

The health coverage of millions of Americans hangs in the balance if the court rules in favor of Republicans, though Tuesday's arguments indicated that the justices were skeptical of striking down the entire law.

"Each and every vote for Joe Biden was a statement that healthcare in America should be a right and not a privilege," Harris said in her remarks. She added: "And Joe Biden won this election decisively."

Yet few Republicans have recognized Biden as the president-elect. On Tuesday, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, predicted, with a grin that may have indicated he was attempting humor, "a smooth transition to a second Trump administration".

On Capitol Hill, where only a handful of Republicans, have acknowledged Biden's victory, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, indicated that Trump would have until the 14 December deadline for the electoral college to cast its votes to pursue his legal challenges.

"Until the electoral college votes, anyone who is running for office can exhaust concerns," McConnell told reporters on Tuesday. He added: "There will be, apparently, litigation. Those cases will be decided. And then the electoral college will meet. And then we'll have the inauguration."

Biden laughed off Pompeo's comments and expressed confidence that Republicans would eventually recognize him as the president-elect. Though he had not spoken to McConnell yet, he anticipated that they would connect soon.

"The whole GOP has been put in a position, with a few notable exceptions, of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president," Biden said.

Even as Republicans refuse to recognize Biden, world leaders are doing so. On Tuesday, Biden spoke with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, according to the transition team. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu ,and Turkish president, Tayyip Erdoğan, have also congratulated Biden on the election, as have the leaders of Canada and Ireland. China and Russia have yet to speak up.

"I'm letting them know that America's back," Biden said, characterizing his conversations with America's allies. "We're back in the game."
Topics

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'An embarrassment': Joe Biden criticizes Trump's refusal to concede election

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Joe Biden said Donald Trump's refusal to concede the election was "an embarrassment", vowing to move forward with the presidential transition despite resistance from the White House and Republican leaders. Biden, answering questions for the first time since he was declared the winner of the 2020 election, intensified his criticism of the president, who continued to baselessly allege voter fraud, and said Trump's denial would "not help his legacy".

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THE SOUND OF VICTORY

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Paula White Leading  Prayer Service For Trump's reelection

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Author: Bria Goeller @goodtrubble

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Author: Zapiro

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D.AN EDITORIAL CARTOON ABOUT DONALD TRUMP

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D.AN EDITORIAL CARTOON ABOUT DONALD TRUMP

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Mark Knight 21 Aug 2020

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a)Read about how the Republicans and Democratic policies are viewed by the general public.GO TO COLUMN 2 C OF THIS PADLET.
b) Look up any difficult word in a dictionary and make an English-French list of new words.
c)Decide if the ideas below are Republican or Democratic .
d) Be prepared to explain why in class.

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Useful Vocabulary for the US Election1.pdf

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Go to 6 A and comment on the three pictures. Watch video 6C first.

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4.FOCUS ON KAMALA HARRIS'S VICTORY SPEECH  

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4.FOCUS ON KAMALA HARRIS'S VICTORY SPEECH  

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GO TO 3 A
Watch the video and take notes about the following points:

1. What does her white suit symbolize? Look it up on the internet and explain the political reference and the comparison.

2. Explain how you understand the first sentence.(the quote)

3.Does Kamala Harris consider herself a symbol?
Explain and give examples.

4.Pick out the references to women.
How do you understand the metaphor: 'I stand on their shoulders.'?

5.Which two important texts  does she refer to?

6.Can you find similarities between her and Barack Obama, the Democratic president of the USA from 2008 to 2017? Look up information about him.

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Compare the 6A pictures about Kamala Harris and the 6B cartoon about Barack Obama.
Explain the link (le lien)between them.

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(repères)

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Kamala Harris’s Victory Speech - American Intonation & Rhythm Analysis