Duties: The president is the head of state of the United States of America and is the chief executive officer and commander in chief of all military forces. The powers of the president are described in the Constitution and federal law. The president appoints the members of the Cabinet, ambassadors to other nations and the United Nations and Supreme Court justices, and federal judges, subject to Senate approval. The president, along with the Cabinet and its agencies, is responsible for carrying out and enforcing the laws of the United States. The president may also recommend legislation to the Congress.
How elected: Every four years, political parties nominate candidates to run for president of the United States in a general election that is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of years divisible by the number four. Although all parties use conventions to nominate their candidates, in most states the Democratic and Republican parties also run statewide primary elections. The results of the primary influence how the delegates to their respective party’s convention will cast ballots for candidates for president. The degree to which the result of the primary election influences the votes of delegates at conventions varies from state to state.
Term: Four years. Limit of two terms.
Base salary: $400,000 per year.
Note: The candidate must have made a public announcement of his intention to run for his party’s nomination for president; and, the candidate must meet the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act’s minimum contribution threshold requirements for qualifying for matching funds, based on the most recent data publicly available on the FEC website.
(Vote for one)
Presidential candidate information below provided by the candidates to Vote411.org
REPUBLICAN
Mitt Romney
Biographical information
Personal statement: I am running for president because I believe in America and know that our best days are still ahead. I will make it my priority to create 12 million new jobs and get our economy going again.
Website: www.mittromney.com
Email: info@mittromney.com
Campaign phone: 857-288-3500
Address: Mitt Romney for President
P.O. Box 149756
Boston MA, 02114-9756

Identify your top three goals if elected.
Romney: The first priority of a Romney administration will be to create 12 million new jobs and get our economy going again. We must get our fiscal house in order. President Obama has put our nation on an unsustainable course. As president, Mitt Romney will set the country on the path to a balanced budget. And he will ensure we have a military so strong that no adversary would want to test it.
In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important things that should be done to improve our nation’s economy?
Romney: Mitt Romney will get America back to work by reforming our tax code so businesses can hire more workers, developing our domestic energy resources to create new jobs here at home, reversing burdensome job-destroying regulations —including Obamacare, and ensuring Americans receive education and training for today’s jobs.
His plan will also get spending under control to prevent a debt crisis.
How can the federal government, in collaboration with other levels of government, provide an equitable, quality public education for all children pre-K through grade 12?
Romney: Mitt Romney believes that this important goal begins with providing parents with increased choice and information. He has put forth a plan that would allow federal funding to follow low-income and special needs students to the school of their choice. This plan also would support high quality charter schools in scaling up and reward states that recruit and retain the best teachers.
Explain why you do or do not support cutting Medicare and Social Security to address the federal deficit.
Romney: Entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are large parts of the federal budget.
Mitt Romney’s plan to reform these programs will not only protect the benefits and services of current seniors and those nearing retirement, but will strengthen the programs so they are available for future generations.
Explain why you do or do not support requiring timely and full disclosure of all political expenditures in federal campaigns.
Romney: Mitt Romney understands that money can be a corrupting influence in politics. But layers of regulations have not taken money out of politics; they have instead created a system of PACs that are not accountable to the candidates they support.
He believes the best solution is swift and full disclosure of all donations to candidates. This allows the American people to hold politicians accountable.
Explain why you do or do not support the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to enforce strong clean air and clean water standards in America.
Romney: Mitt Romney is proud of the environmental progress that we have made to improve our nation’s air and water quality and supports continued progress. However, while our air and water laws have served us well over the years, he recognizes that they are significantly out of date and in need of reform.
DEMOCRAT
Barack Obama
Biographical information
Website: www.barackobama.com
Campaign phone: 312-698-3670
Address: Obama for America
P.O. Box 803638
Chicago, IL 60680

Identify your top three goals if elected.
Obama: As a nation, our challenges can by met by rebuilding the middle class and our economy on a stronger foundation. I have laid out a set of concrete goals on manufacturing, energy, education, national security and the deficit that will create jobs, expand opportunity and create an economy built to last.
In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important things that should be done to improve our nation’s economy?
Obama: When I took office, we were losing private sector jobs at a rate of nearly 800,000 a month. Now we have experienced 30 straight months of private-sector job growth, creating 4.6 million private-sector jobs. I have proposed steps to create a million more jobs by preventing teacher layoffs, putting construction workers back to work, bringing jobs back from overseas, and helping small businesses grow.
How can the federal government, in collaboration with other levels of government, provide an equitable, quality public education for all children pre-K through grade 12?
Obama: My administration spurred 46 states to raise standards for teaching and learning and strengthened Head Start. Millions of students are paying less for college because we cut student loan subsidies for banks and doubled scholarships. We will recruit 100,000 math and science teachers, train 2 million workers for real jobs through community colleges, and cut the growth of tuition in half.
Explain why you do or do not support cutting Medicare and Social Security to address the federal deficit.
Obama: Social Security and Medicare are sacred compacts with seniors who earned benefits after a lifetime of hard work. I added eight years to the solvency of Medicare without cutting benefits by cracking down on waste, fraud and subsidies to insurance companies. I have proposed steps to strengthen Medicare and Social Security without slashing benefits or subjecting it to the whims of the stock market.
Explain why you do or do not support requiring timely and full disclosure of all political expenditures in federal campaigns.
Obama: Powerful special interests should not drown out the voices of the American people. We need to pass the bipartisan Disclose Act that would establish the toughest-ever disclosure requirements for election-related spending. I also support campaign finance reform, by constitutional amendment if necessary.
Explain why you do or do not support the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to enforce strong clean air and clean water standards in America.
Obama: Nothing is more important than ensuring the air we breathe and the water we drink is safe. We have broken decades of gridlock to double fuel mileage standards, effectively cutting your cost at the pump in half and reducing air pollution. And we’ve set standards for new mercury and other toxic air emissions from power plants and other sources that combined will save up to 21,600 lives a year.
GREEN
Jill Stein
Biographical information
Personal statement: We can’t afford four more years of Wall Street bailouts and an economy for the super-rich.
We must guarantee every individual a job at a living wage, quality health care, tuition-free education, Social Security and a healthy climate and environment.
Website: www.jillstein.org
Email: HQ@JillStein.org
Address: P.O. Box 260217
Madison, WI 53726-0217

Identify your top three goals if elected.
Stein: I stand for a Green New Deal that will deliver:
1. A recession-proof economy that provides a job at a living wage for every American willing and able to work;
2. An economy based on clean, renewable energy;
3. Replacement of the predatory Wall Street banks with a public interest banking system; and
4. A real democracy in which politicians are accountable to voters, not big money donors.
In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important things that should be done to improve our nation’s economy?
Stein: My Green New Deal will create 25 million jobs through a nationally funded but locally controlled direct employment initiative. This will eliminate long-term unemployment by letting workers simply go to the local employment office and get a job. It will deliver the most effective stimulus of all: millions of workers with paychecks.
How can the federal government, in collaboration with other levels of government, provide an equitable, quality public education for all children pre-K through grade 12?
Stein: I will end Washington’s attempts to promote high-stakes testing, corporatization of public schools, and destructive union-busting schemes. I will repeal the misguided No Child and Race to the Top laws and refocus on creating schools that prepare students for lifetime learning: full funding, small class sizes, teachers that are well trained, respected and compensated, and parental involvement.
Explain why you do or do not support cutting Medicare and Social Security to address the federal deficit.
Stein: Neither Medicare nor Social Security will be cut under the Green New Deal. I will guarantee health care for everyone under a Medicare for All reform that will save trillions by streamlining the massive, wasteful, health insurance bureaucracy and ending runaway medical inflation. I will make Social Security permanently solvent by lifting the income cap on the payroll taxes.
Explain why you do or do not support requiring timely and full disclosure of all political expenditures in federal campaigns.
Stein: I support full disclosure of donor identities. But we must do more to eliminate the poisonous impact of big money on our democracy. We must amend our Constitution to prevent corporations from stealing our democratic rights by claiming the same rights as real people. We also need to end the buying of elections by providing clean money funding for candidates that agree to spending limits.
Explain why you do or do not support the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to enforce strong clean air and clean water standards in America.
Stein: We cannot afford the health injuries, natural resource losses, and ecological disintegration that result from lax EPA enforcement. I will require EPA to address new threats to our air, land, water and climate from hydrofracking, deepwater drilling and more. EPA must fully implement the ozone standards that were killed by the Obama administration.
LIBERTARIAN PARTY
Gary Johnson
Biographical information
Personal statement: After having built a successful business, I entered public service by asking the people of New Mexico to give me an opportunity to bring common sense leadership to the office of governor. I pledged to reduce taxes, reduce the size of state government.
Website: www.garyjohnson2012.com
Email: mail@garyjohnson2012.com
Campaign phone: 801-303-7922
Address: 731 E. South Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84102

Identify your top three goals if elected.
Johnson: 1. Balance the federal budget.
2. Cut federal spending by the amount necessary to eliminate deficit spending without raising taxes.
3. Remove the United States from unnecessary and costly foreign wars and interventions, including in Afghanistan.
In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important things that should be done to improve our nation’s economy?
Johnson: The federal budget must be brought under control to eliminate the massive deficits that are threatening the economy and our security. Removing the burden of deficits and debt will restore confidence and free up capital to permit the economy to grow.
I advocate a consumption tax which would allow us to eliminate taxes on income, capital gains and businesses — creating millions of new jobs.
How can the federal government, in collaboration with other levels of government, provide an equitable, quality public education for all children pre-K through grade 12?
Johnson: The federal government cannot and should not try to provide public education. Decades of increasing federal interference in education has done little other than stifle innovation and competition in public education. Education should be left to the states, which will permit the types of innovation and education choices that will allow us to regain its competitive advantage in global education.
Explain why you do or do not support cutting Medicare and Social Security to address the federal deficit.
Johnson: It is not possible to preserve health care programs for future generations, while bringing federal spending under control and not reducing Medicare.
Not addressing Medicare and Medicaid spending will result in an insolvent system. Under a program of block grants, the states can fashion their own health care programs for those who need assistance, more effectively than the federal government.
Explain why you do or do not support requiring timely and full disclosure of all political expenditures in federal campaigns.
Johnson: Full and immediate disclosure and transparency for campaign contributions and expenditures is the only effective way to give the American public confidence in the system and allow them to make their own decisions regarding the propriety of how one candidate or another finances his or her campaigns.
Explain why you do or do not support the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to enforce strong clean air and clean water standards in America.
Johnson: The federal government’s most fundamental role is to protect citizens. To the extent that fulfilling that role requires enforcement actions by the EPA, that enforcement should be reasonable, but adequate to protect us from harm. The EPA, however, should not be in the business of managing the environment through regulations that force decisions that should be left to the marketplace, such as energy.