Cultural English 53 - Elections in the U.S.; Q&A

Complete Transcript

You're listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 53.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café number 53. I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

On this Café, we’re going to talk about elections in the United States, when people vote for government officials. Let's get started.

Our topic today is elections in the United States. “Elections.” An “election” (election) is when, typically, you vote for someone you want for a certain position of leadership. “To vote” means to say, “I want this person and not that person.” In the old days, we used to vote on pieces of paper when we had elections. Nowadays, most things are done on computers. Today I want to talk about elections in the United States and how they work.

We basically have two kinds of elections in the U.S. They're really two phases or steps that we use when electing people for certain offices. These two steps are not used for every election, for every office, but for the most important political offices. Nationally, for a state, or for a city, you typically find these two kinds of elections.

The first kind of election is called a “primary election.” A “primary (primary) election” is an election where you are voting for the person who's going to represent a political party. In the United States, we have two main political groups – or political “parties,” as they're called – the Republicans and the Democrats. When we have an election for a major office, an important position, we typically have a primary election because there are several people from each party who want to represent that party. However, only one person can represent the party in the next phase or the next step in the election process.

So, first the Republicans have to choose their candidate, and the Democrats have to choose their candidate. A “candidate” is what we call the person who wants to win the election, who is part of the election. Someone in the Democratic Party is called a “Democrat.” Someone in the Republican Party is called a “Republican.” Each of these parties, then, for all of the most important political offices, usually have a primary election. It can be held, or it can take place, anywhere between two months and maybe as much as six months before the next phase or the next step in the election process, which is called the “general election.”

A general election is when you are voting for the person who will take over that political position. In a general election, you usually just have two, maybe three people who are on what we call the “ballot” (ballot). The ballot is, in the old days, the name that we would give the piece of paper that you would write a name on or put a mark on that would indicate who you wanted to win the election. “To be on the ballot,” however, just means that you are one of the people who can be voted for.

In a general election, you usually have one Democrat and one Republican. Now, there are other political parties in the United States, and they can also be on the general election ballot. For president, for example, we have several different political parties that often have candidates who are on the ballot for the general election, or in the general election.

Not every political office in the United States has a primary and general election, as I mentioned earlier, and there are some political offices – it depends on the state or city – where you are not allowed to say if you are a Democrat or a Republican. These are what we call nonpartisan elections. “Nonpartisan” (nonpartisan) means that you do not identify the political party of the people who are trying to win the election of the candidates.

There are some elections where we don't have a Republican candidate and a Democratic candidate. We just have people who are, we use the verb, “running” for the office. “To run” for a political office or a political position is to try to get elected to that position. For the presidency of the United States, which is an election that happens every four years, we have the primary elections in the early part of the year – in January, February, March, April, May, and June. Then later in the year, in November, we have the general election.

The primary election, actually, in some ways begins even earlier – at least, candidates will start campaigning much sooner than January of the year of the election. “To campaign” (campaign) means to go out and give speeches, try to get people to vote for you, try to get people to know who you are. The traditional day for the general election in the United States for the presidency, and in other years for other important political offices, is usually the first Tuesday of November.

In some countries, election day is a holiday – a day where no one has to go to work. Sometimes election days are on Sunday so that it's unlikely that most people will be working. However, in the United States, it is not a holiday. It is not held on Sunday. Elections, whether they’re primary or general elections, are almost always held on a Tuesday. As I say, the first Tuesday of November is the most common day for an election.

In order to really understand American elections, you have to remember a few basic facts about the way our government is put together. There are three main parts of our national government and typically three parts of our state governments.

One part is called the “executive branch” (branch). The executive branch is the president and the people who work for the president, when we're talking about our national government. In the state government, the executive branch is run by the governor. The governor is the leader of that individual state. A branch is merely one part of a tree. It's what we call a part of a tree, like the arm of a tree. We have three branches in the American government tree, you could call them.

One branch is the executive branch. The second branch is called the legislative branch. “Legislative” (legislative) means these are the representatives of each individual area in a state or in a country. The legislative branch at the national level, for our federal government, consists of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The Senate has two representatives from each state. So, there are 100 senators, because we have 50 states. The U.S. House of Representatives has different numbers of representatives, depending on the population of the individual states. Right now there are 435 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The legislative branch decides what laws are going to be passed, what laws are going to be put into place in a country or in a state. The president has to approve the law. So, both branches of government have to agree that this should become a law. That's a little simplistic. There are some other things that can happen that would allow a law, for example, to become a law without the approval of the president or of the governor, but we won't talk about those here.

The third and final branch of our government system is called the “judicial (judicial) branch.” Those are the judges. Those are the people who decide not only who's guilty and who's innocent, who’s a criminal and who's not a criminal, but also this is the branch that interprets the laws, that decides what the laws really are supposed to mean. So, if people don't agree on what the law means, they will go to the judicial branch.

I mentioned that we have national elections every four years in the United States. However, we also have elections in between those four years for other political positions such as governor and mayor and representative. The elections that are in between, in the midpoint of the two presidential election years, are called “midterm elections.” A “midterm (midterm) election” is an election that takes place in between the presidential elections – two years after, or if you prefer, two years before the next one.

The U.S. House of Representatives, for example, is elected every two years. So, every two years, we have an election for our representatives. For the U.S. Senate, the senators are elected every six years, although not all senators are elected every six years. They have one group that gets elected every six years, and then a different group on a different schedule, if you will. So, the entire U.S. Senate isn't new every six years. There is about a third of them that get elected every two years, but on a six-year schedule.

Elections in the United States nowadays are conducted, or are carried out, two different ways. One, you can go to a place and vote. This is the traditional way. This is the way that most people still vote, at least in this time period when I'm recording this episode. You go to what's called a “polling place.” A “polling (polling) place” is where you go and you cast your ballot. A “ballot” (ballot) you remember, is the piece of paper where you write a name down or indicate who you want to win this particular election. The verb we commonly use is “cast” (cast). “To cast your ballot” means to vote.

The polling places are in different locations depending on what state you are in. Sometimes polling places can be in people's houses or garages, believe it or not. Mostly, though, they’re in churches or government buildings or schools – somewhere where they have space for people to come and vote on election day.

In many states, such as in California, you don't even have to go to a polling place to cast your ballot for your favorite candidates. Instead, you can vote by mail. I, for example, do all of my voting now by mail. I have not gone to a polling place in several years. What happens is, the government sends out what are called “paper ballots,” you fill them out, and then you mail them back to the government.

The qualifications for voting in the United States are pretty simple. You have to be 18 years old, you have to be a citizen of the United States, and in some states, you have to be someone who has not committed a serious crime – someone who has not been a criminal. There are some states where if you are a criminal, especially if you are in prison, you are not allowed to vote.

But generally speaking, if you're 18 and a citizen of the United States, you can vote. There are no tests that you have to take. There are no taxes that you have to pay to vote. It's free to vote in many states, such as in California. The ballots, the names, are actually written in different languages. So, in case you don't speak English fluently, you can vote in Chinese, or in Spanish, or in Vietnamese, or Korean, or Armenian, or many other languages. Not all states have these, what are called, “bilingual ballots,” however.

One more item you may be interested in learning about is something that became very popular in a recent election, and that is the terms “red state” and “blue state.” When someone says, “I'm from a red state,” they mean they’re from a state where most of the voters are Republicans. If you say you're from a “blue state,” such as California or New York, most of the voters are Democrats. Why red and blue? Well, I think some of the television stations, during one of the presidential elections a few years ago, decided to use blue and red as colors to represent on a map the different political parties. And that's why we now have these terms “red state” and “blue state.”

Some U.S. elections have a very low voter turnout. “Turnout” (turnout) refers to the percentage of people who actually go and vote. In many elections, unfortunately, here in the U.S., turnout is below, or less than, 50 percent. This is a problem, of course, because then the government in some ways doesn't really represent everyone. Why don't people vote? Some people don't think it matters. Some people don't care. Some people perhaps feel they don't have enough information to cast a ballot.

If you come to the United States and become a citizen of the United States, then of course you have the right to vote. However, visitors and those who are here even on visas do not have the right to vote and are not allowed to vote in any area of the U.S. that I know of. The U.S. does allow citizens who live in other countries – that is, American citizens who live in other countries – to vote. However, those procedures are a little more complicated – more complicated than what we have time for today.

Now let’s answer some of the questions that you have sent to us.

Our first question comes from one Juan (Juan) Luis (Luis). Juan Luis lives in Mexico. He wants to know the meaning of an expression he heard, “She proved me wrong.” “To prove (prove) someone wrong” means to show or to demonstrate that they made a mistake. They committed an error. They did something wrong or said something that was incorrect. “To prove” means to offer some evidence, usually some demonstration or what we might call, simply, some “proof” (proof) that you are right.

For example, if you say the capital of Minnesota, the capital city of Minnesota, is Minneapolis, I would say, “No, you're wrong. The capital of Minnesota is St. Paul. And here's a map that shows that St. Paul is the capital.” I, in that case, have “proven you wrong.” I have shown that you are incorrect.

Our next question comes from Alexis (Alexis) in Tibet. Alexis’s question has to do with the difference between “effect” and “affect.” This is a good question, because these two words can be very confusing even for native speakers of English.

Let's start with “effect” (effect). In general, we use the word “effect” as a noun to mean something that is a change or something that has changed because of some other cause or reason. For example, one effect of the rain is that the flowers are now growing more quickly, or one effect of education is to give people the opportunity to have a better job. The effect is the consequence – what results from another action or activity.

“Affect” (affect) is usually used as a verb. When we say we “affect” something, we say that something has had an “effect” on something else. So, “The weather affected me.” Notice that it sounds the same, very similar anyway, but it's spelled differently and has a slightly different meaning. “Effect” spelled with an “e” refers to the noun – the consequence or result. “Affect” with an “a” refers to a verb that is the cause of something, that's indicating the reason for something.

For example, “The rain affected my mood, my feelings.” There, “affected” is spelled with an “a.” “The rain had an effect on my feelings.” There, “effect” is spelled with an “e.” Just to make things even more confusing for you, you can use effect spelled with an “e” as a verb as well, but it's not as common and we’ll just try to keep it simple for this question.

Our next question comes from Zsolti (Zsolti) in Hungary. Zsolti wants to know the meaning of the expressions “to wait on” someone and “to wait for” someone. When we say we are “waiting on” someone, we usually mean that we are working in a restaurant as a waitress, a waiter, or what's now more generally called a “server.” “To wait on” someone is to take care of them. In this case – in a restaurant, that is – you would be finding out what food they want, bringing them water, bringing them perhaps their food when it's ready, and so forth. That's “to wait on.”

You could also wait on someone not in a restaurant. If someone was sick in your family, for example, you might be helping them, assisting them. You could call that waiting on them. Usually, however, the verb “to wait on” refers to working in some sort of restaurant. The expression “to wait for” (for) someone means that you are in a place and expecting a person to come. “I am waiting for my wife to get back home” – I am sitting here in the house waiting for her. You could also wait for some sort of event. “I am waiting for the beginning of the month when my new television show begins.” That's also possible.

In some occasions, people use “wait on” to mean something similar to “wait for,” although it's not a very common use. There was a Rolling Stones song, I believe, that had the line, “I'm just waiting on a friend.” In a way, that means the same as “waiting for,” but that use is not common, and to keep things clear, I would use “wait on” only if you work in a restaurant and “wait for” when you are expecting someone to return.

Our next question comes from Andreas (Andreas) in Germany, in Berlin. Andreas wants to know the difference between two common adjectives in English: “big” and “large.” Well, “big” and “large” are adjectives that are used to describe the size of something in comparison to, for example, “small.” The opposite of small is large.

Many times, you can use either “big” or “large.” You can use one for the other. “I have a large television.” “I have a big television.” When talking about physical size, both of those things mean the same. When we're talking about clothing, for example, you can use usually either “big” or “large.” You could say, “This shirt is too big for me.” You could also say, “This shirt is too large for me.”

“Large” is sometimes also used not just to talk about the size, but also the quantity of something. “I have a large amount of money,” for example. You wouldn't normally say, “I have a big amount of money.” “Big” can be used in other circumstances where you cannot use large, also. For example, “I have a big day coming up.” That means I have an important day coming up.

Our final question is from Francesca (Francesca) in Italy. Francesca wants to know the meanings of the expressions “I'm fine,” “I'm good,” and “I’m well.” If someone says, for example, “How are you?” do you say, “I'm fine,” “I'm good,” or “I'm well”? All three of these expressions are popular. When you say, “I'm fine,” usually you mean that you're okay, that there's no problem.

If you say, “I'm good,” that means you're not just okay, you’re a little better than okay. Sometimes we often use “I'm good” in another circumstance, where someone offers you something. For example, ”Would you like some more food?” You might say, “No, I'm good.” There, you don't mean that you're better than okay – you really mean, “No, I have enough.”

“I'm well” is also possible to say when people are talking about not so much their mood, but their health. How are you feeling? “I'm feeling well,” or simply, “I'm well.” “I'm fine” and “I'm well” are probably more common in formal circumstances, although they could be used among friends, as well. “I'm good” is a little more informal.

I hope you're good. If you have a question or comment, you can email us. Our email address is eslpod@eslpod.com.

From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Come back and listen to us again right here on the English Café.

Glossary

primary election – an election where voters decide which candidate (the person who wants the position) from each party will run in a future election against the other parties

* The primary election will cut down the number of candidates for governor from eight to two.

to take office – to begin work in a specific job, usually used for important government positions

* Do you think that the new mayor will keep his promises after he takes office?

legislative – related to making laws or policies

* The legislative council voted to pass the new budget before the deadline.

midterm elections – elections where members of the U.S. Congress are elected but the U.S. president is not; elections in the middle of the U.S. president’s term of office

* There were fewer people who voted in the 2002 and 2006 midterm elections than in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

term of office – the number of years someone can hold an office or a government position

* Some people think that the president of the United States should have a longer term of office than four years.

to cast a ballot – to vote; to indicate who you want to hold a public office or a government position

* If you cast a ballot for me, you’re casting a ballot for a cleaner environment and better schools.

candidate – someone who wants to hold an office or a job, or be the winner of a prize

* Did you know that Dr. Jeff McQuillan is a candidate for the Nobel prize this year?

polling place – the place where people go to vote

* Right before the polls closed at 8 p.m. last night, we saw a lot of people standing in line at the polling place.

voter turnout – the percentage of people who vote in an election of all those who are allowed to vote

* The voter turnout for the election this year was the highest in 10 years.

to prove (someone) wrong – to show, usually with evidence, that someone is wrong or has made a mistake

* His teacher told him that he wouldn’t do well in college. To prove her wrong, he studied hard and was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley.

effect – result or outcome

* Even though she’s very beautiful, she has no idea of the effect she has on men when she walks into a room.

to affect – to influence or to change

* The team didn’t allow their early losses in the season to affect their playing.

to wait on (someone) – to give someone service; to be a servant for someone

* When you get married, don’t expect your husband or wife to wait on you.

to wait for someone – to expect someone; to stay in a place where you expect someone to arrive

* We’ve been waiting for Brianna for an hour. I don’t think she’s coming.

What Insiders Know

“And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” – President John F. Kennedy (1961)

For many Americans, President John F. Kennedy is one of the presidents the country has ever had. This quote is from President Kennedy’s “inaugural address.” The word “inaugural” means the beginning of a period of time, usually the beginning of a time when someone serves in a governmental office or job. An “address” is a formal speech, usually given by an important person. This quote is well known to most Americans, and in it, President Kennedy is asking his “fellow” Americans, or other Americans like him, to stop waiting for the government to do something good for them. Instead, he wants Americans to start thinking about how to do things that will benefit their own country.

John F. Kennedy was president for less than three years when he was “assassinated,” or killed. (The verb “to assassinate” is used instead of “to murder” when we talk about an important person, usually someone who is a political or religious leader.) President Kennedy was killed by a gunshot while he was riding in a “convertible,” or a car with a folding or removable roof, in a “parade,” or a public celebration, in Texas. There have been many “conspiracy theories” about how he was killed. A conspiracy theory is a belief that a powerful organization is controlling others and is responsible for something that happened. Even though the police “arrested,” or took to jail, the man who they believed shot the president, some people still believe that someone else shot him or that his assassination was arranged by powerful people who didn’t like him politically.