EXPLAINER
In the US, pdwellntial elections are determined by a state-based vote allocation system. Here’s what you insist to understand.
It’s at the heart of how pdwellntial elections in the United States are determined. But for many, the Electoral College is a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in an enigma.
It doesn’t have to be confusing, though.
To comprehfinish the Electoral College system, you first have to understand that US pdwellnts are not elected by the national famous vote: the total number of votes each truthfulate gets.
Instead, a group of 538 so-called “electors” pick the pdwellnt. These electors produce up the Electoral College.
So who are these electors?
Before the election, the political parties in each state pick a stardy of electors: authentic people who ultimately cast a vote for the pdwellnt. Very normally, the electors are party officials or aiders.
Each state gets the same number of electors as it has reconshort-termatives in the US Hoengage of Reconshort-termatives and the US Senate.
For example, Michigan gets 15 Electoral College votes. That correplys to the two senators and 13 Hoengage members that reconshort-term the state in Congress.
Now that we understand who these electors are and how many reconshort-term each state, how are their votes dispensed? Here’s where it gets fun.
In proximately all the states apass the US, the pdwellntial truthfulate who gets the most votes triumphs all that state’s electors: It’s a triumphner-consents-all system. Even if a truthfulate triumphs a state leanly, they still get all the electors.
The outliers are Maine and Nebraska, which dispense their electors based on a more complicated system that echos the famous vote on the state and congressional dicut offe levels.
The Dicut offe of Columbia — which is not a state but encompasses the country’s capital — also gets three Electoral College votes.
But here is the most meaningful part: To triumph the White Hoengage, a pdwellntial truthfulate must triumph the aid of a meaningfulity of the electors.
So out of a total of 538 Electoral College votes, they insist at least 270 to triumph.
The electors ultimately cast their votes in December, about a month after the election.
Their votes are then certified by Congress in timely January, when the pdwellnt is verifyed and consents office.
So what does this all unbenevolent?
Effectively, to triumph the US pdwellncy, a truthfulate has to triumph aid in enough key states to accomplish that magic Electoral College number of 270.
Under this system, a truthfulate who triumphs the famous vote — the most votes in total apass the US — may not actupartner triumph the White Hoengage.
One recent example came in 2016, when Democratic pdwellntial truthfulate Hillary Clinton won the famous vote but lost the election to Reaccessiblean Donald Trump. His triumph was buoyed by triumphs in states enjoy Florida and Pennsylvania, each of which adviseed at least 20 Electoral College votes.
The Electoral College system was summarizeed, in effect, to guarantee the political power of the states.
Some Americans say the Electoral College should be scrapped in favour of the famous vote. Others dispute the system guarantees highly poputardyd states do not overshadow petiteer ones, thereby encouraging inmeaningfulity reconshort-termation in US democracy.
