Why is the president elected every four years and the congress elected every two years?

Answer 1

When it was written in the constitution there was no time limit on the president for staying in office. The term was 4 years, but he could serve more than two terms. After FDR and his 3 terms in office a constitutional amendment was written to change it that the president could only serve 2 terms total. The Senate's term is 6 years and they are divided into classes of freshmen, sophomores and seniors. One third of the senate is up for election at any one time. This maintains a constant source of people entering and leaving the body. The House members are 2 years and were basically considered by the framers to be the lower house of Congress ( Congress is the name for the body as a whole) and to come from the population at large. When the framers first conceived of the 3 branches of government they thought of political leaders as people who would come into offices and serve for short periods of time and then go home. They never could see what we have today with professional politicians who make a job of 20-30 years of running for office. The framers of the Constitution also didn't allow for general elections for the first several years of our country. The president was elected by the members of Congress and Congress was elected in elections where only educated men who owned land were allowed to vote. At this time they actually didn't think the general population was educated enough or smart enough to make decisions in voting.

Answer 2

They vote every 4 years because you are a citizen.