USA

India

• The Electoral College consists of 538 electors (Senate 100 plus 3 for District of Columbia and 435 members of the House of Representatives).
  • The Electoral College is an intermediary body or process that chooses the U.S. President. In this system, voters of each State cast their ballots to choose members (or electors) of the electoral college who then vote to select the President. 
  • States have varying numbers of electors based on their representation in Congress.
• A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President of USA.

Members of an Electoral College consisting of 

• The elected members of both the Houses of Parliament, and
• The elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States [including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry vide the Constitution (Seventieth Amendment) Act, 1992 (Article 54)].

Note: The nominated members of either House of Parliament or the Legislative Assemblies of State are not eligible to be included in the Electoral College. 

Each state establishes its own election rules, reflecting the U.S.'s decentralized system, where individual states oversee and manage their electoral processes.

The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952.

Candidates secure party nominations through primaries and caucuses.

A prospective Presidential candidate should get his/her nomination paper subscribed by at least fifty electors as proposers and at least fifty electors as seconders.

Most states follow a winner-take-all approach, where the candidate with the majority in a state wins all its electoral votes, except in Maine and Nebraska.

• Candidates can win the presidency without winning the popular vote.
• Like Donald Trump win in 2016.

System of Proportional Representation by means of single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.

• The candidate needs to secure 50% of the total votes cast + 1 to win.

Significantly prolonged largely due to reliance on paper ballots and the handling of mail-in votes (like our postal ballots). 

Use of EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines).

Every 4 years on a fixed schedule.

Every 5 years (except in exceptional cases).

The Presidential candidate chooses a Running Mate (Vice Presidential Candidate).

Separate election takes place for Vice President of India.