(本文系美国国务院出版物《美国政体的结构与运作》[How the United States Is Governed]的章节之一。)

联邦选举在偶数年的11月举行。如同总统、参议员、众议员的选区相互重合一样，他们的任期也相互交错。

• 众议员任期两年，由各众议员选区的选民选出。
• 参议员任期六年，每两年有三分之一参议员任期届满，由选民重新选举。参议员是州选民的代表，因此参议员选举在全州举行。
• 总统和副总统选举每四年在全国范围举行一次。

竞选活动通常随着候选人宣布参选而远在实际投票日期到来之前就拉开序幕。如果一个政党有一个以上的候选人参选，需要首先举行预选，以便决定出一名代表该党参加大选的候选人。

总统大选的预选程序与国会议员的选举程序不甚相同。从大选年的1月到6月，各州首先举行预选投票或预选会议。预选结果决定了各候选人将得到多少名出席政党全国提名大会的代表。政党提名大会通常在7月或8月举行，政党的总统候选人在这次会议上正式产生。

在11月的大选中，参议员和众议员选举是由简单多数原则决定胜负，即赢得票数最多的人当选──无论其是否赢得绝对多数票。但总统选举结果取决于选举人票数。每个州拥有相当于该州参、众议员人数总和的选举人票。首都哥伦比亚特区有三张选举人票。

在总统选举中，赢得一个州多数普通选民选票的候选人往往囊括该州的选举人票。在各州选举结果得到确认后，需要对各候选人赢得的选举人票作出统计。赢得多数选举人票(即538票中的至少270票)的候选当选总统。如果没有任何一位候选人赢得至少270张选举人票，那么将由众议院以一州一票的方式选出总统。鉴于总统选举不是直接由选民票数决定，因此有可能出现一位候选人赢得多数选民的选票而未能当选的情况。

(The following article is taken from the U.S. Department of State publication, How the United States is Governed.)

Federal elections are held in November of even-numbered years. Just as the President, Senators, and Representatives have overlapping constituencies, their terms also overlap.

• All Representatives are elected every two years by the voters of the district they represent.

• Senators serve six-year terms, with one-third of them up for election every even year. Senators are chosen in statewide elections and represent all residents of their states.

• The President and Vice President are elected together every four years in a nationwide election.

The election process begins well in advance of the actual election as individuals declare their candidacies for office. In the congressional election process, if more than one candidate from the same party seeks the office, a primary election is held to determine which candidate will be on the ballot in the general election.

The primary process for presidential elections is different from congressional elections. Beginning in January and lasting through June of the election year, states hold presidential primaries or caucuses. The results of these ballots determine how many delegates will represent each respective candidate at the national party nominating conventions, which are usually held in July or August. These political conventions are where each party's nominee is actually selected.

In the general election in November, Senators and Representatives are elected by plurality vote – the candidate receiving the most votes wins, even if it is not a majority. In presidential elections, each state is allocated a number of electoral votes equal to the sum of U.S. Representatives and Senators for that state. The District of Columbia, though not a state, has three electoral votes.

The presidential candidate who wins the popular vote in a state "wins" that state's electoral votes, usually in a winner-take-all manner. After elections in each state are certified, the electoral votes won by each candidate are counted. If a candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes (at least 270 of the 538 total), he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the U.S. House of Representatives chooses the winner, with each state delegation having one vote. Because the President is not elected directly by the people, it is possible for a candidate to receive a plurality of the popular vote and yet lose the election.