As the world is set to know the next president of the United States after the current President, Joe Biden, there are lots of questions about the Electoral College: the meaning and even the purpose.
Why is the president and vice president not decided by the majority of voters? Why does it have to be 270 of 538 electors in the Electoral College?
There is no location called the Electoral College. It is rather a procedure that involves the following: elector selection, voting for the president and vice president in a meeting of electors, and Counting of the electors’ votes which is done in and by the Congress candidates are chosen directly by the electorate in other US elections.
However, citizens do not directly elect the president and vice president. Rather, the Electoral College is used to select them.
The Constitution outlines how electors are used. It was a compromise between a congressional vote and a popular vote by the populace.
Tribune Online ten facts that are worth knowing about the Electoral College:
Impact on Campaigns: The Electoral College influences campaign strategies, leading candidates to focus on ‘swing states’ which are states where both major political parties have similar levels of support rather than trying to win the nationwide popular vote.
Electors: Each state has a number of electors equal to its total number of senators and representatives in Congress as there are 538 electors in total, with 270 needed to win the presidency.
Controversy: The Electoral College has been criticized over the years for not reflecting the national popular vote. This was reported in the elections of 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016 by various news houses.
Winner-Takes-All System: In most of the states, the candidates who receive the majority of the popular votes wins all of the state’s electoral votes. Nebraska and Maine use this method.
Meeting of Electors: In December after the presidential election, electors gather in the capital cities of their states to cast their ballots for the president and vice president.
Certification: The Congress receives the electoral votes, which are formally tallied during a joint session in January. The official announcement of the president-elect occurs at this point.
State Allocation: Each state has a different number of electors according to its population. For instance, states like Wyoming and Vermont have the fewest electors (3), while California has the most (55).
Electoral College in Practice: It has been used in every presidential election since 1789, with the first election resulting in George Washington’s unanimous election.
Amendment Challenges: There have been numerous proposals to abolish or reform the Electoral College, but none have successfully passed both houses of Congress.
Purpose: The Electoral College was established in the U.S. Constitution as a compromise between electing the president by a vote in Congress and by popular vote.
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