Trump vs Biden | How USA elects President; differences with Indian poll system

The world's oldest democracy, the United States of America, is set to vote for its 46th President on November 3, 2020. The contenders are the incumbent, Donald Trump of the Republican party, and the challenger, Joe Biden of the Democratic party. But how exactly does the US vote-in a President? Is it like the Indian system, where the electorate chooses Members of the Parliament's Lok Sabha, who in turn select a Prime Minister? With the help of Yashwant Raj, the Hindustan Times correspondent in Washington, understand how the US system is similar, but also different, from that of India's.

Like India, the US Commander-in-Chief is elected indirectly, but it is not the members of the legislature who make the final choice. Instead, Americans vote for the members of an 'electoral college', who subsequently hold a ballot to choose the US President. However, this system is further complicated by state-level laws which govern whether the electoral college must adhere to the 'popular vote' of each province. Another factor in this year's election is the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The outbreak has hit the US the hardest with the country recording over 50 lakh cases and 1.62 lakh deathsso far.