elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004)
election results: George W. BUSH elected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 48%, Albert A. GORE, Jr. (Democratic Party) 48%, Ralph NADER (Green Party) 3%, other 1%
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress consists of Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 50, Democratic Party 50; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 221, Democratic Party 211, independent 2, vacant 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for
life by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United
States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and
County Courts
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE, national committee chairman]; Republican Party [James S. GILMORE III, national committee chairman]; several other groups or parties of minor political significance
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: APEC, ARF (dialogue
partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC,
CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP,
FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, NAM (guest), NATO,
NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council,
UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA,
UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Flag description: thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico