It is important for citizens to vote in which of the following types of elections?

What types of elections are held in the United States? There are two basic types of elections - primary and general. In addition to the primaries and general elections held in even-numbered years, which include political races for the U. S. Congress, some states and local jurisdictions also hold - off-year‖ elections (both primary and general) in oddnumbered years for their elected officials. A primary election is a nominating election in which the field of candidates that will run in the general election is chosen. Victory in a primary usually results in a candidate being nominated or endorsed by a political party for the general election. A general election is an election held to choose among candidates nominated in a primary (or by convention, caucus or petition) for federal, state and/or local office. The purpose of a general election is to make a final choice among the various candidates who have been nominated by parties or who are running as independents (not affiliated with a major political party) or, in some cases, write-in candidates. Measures such as proposed legislation (referendums), bond issues (approving the borrowing of money for public projects) and other mandates on government also can be placed on the ballot. In addition, many states provide for special elections, which can be called at any time, to serve a specific purpose, such as filling an unexpected vacancy in an elected office. What are midterm elections? The elections in which Americans vote for their congressional representatives but not for their president are known as midterm elections. Every two years, Americans elect members of the U. S. House of Representatives to two-year terms and about one-third of their U. S. senators, who serve sixyear terms. Voters also will select officials to state and local government posts. What is a convention? Conventions are meetings sponsored by political parties for members of the party to discuss issues, candidates and campaign strategies. These meetings can last several days. In presidential elections, after state primaries are concluded, each party holds a national convention to formally select the presidential nominee - usually the candidate who secured the support of the most convention delegates, based on victories in primary elections. Typically, the presidential nominee then chooses a running mate to be the party’s candidate for vice president. Political parties hold national conventions only in presidential election years. The parties usually hold smaller, state-level conventions in other years. The Democratic National Convention will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 3-6, 2012. The Republican National Convention will be in Tampa, Florida, August 27-30, 2012. What is a caucus? A caucus is a meeting at the local level in which registered members of a political party in a city, town or county gather to express support for a candidate. For statewide or national offices, those recommendations are combined to determine the state party nominee. Caucuses, unlike conventions, involve many separate meetings held simultaneously at multiple locations. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have their own rules governing caucuses. Those rules vary from state to state.