The Electoral College, Explained

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Posted by: RStokes
Date: Nov 04 2024 2:36 PM

Many are confused at what the Electoral College is and how it works.

The Electoral College is a process, not a place. It was originally established as a compromise between the election of the president by a vote in Congress and election of the president by popular vote. 

There are 538 electors. To win the presidency, a candidate must secure 270 electoral votes. 

A state’s electors are made up of the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member of the House of Representatives, plus two senators. 

Alabama has seven Congressional representatives along with its two senators; so, it has nine electoral votes. 

Each party gets to choose a slate of electoral voters. The number of electoral votes a state gets can change based on population shifts detailed in the Census.

After voters cast their ballots in November, the candidate who wins the popular vote determines which slate of electors—Republican, Democrat, or third party—will cast electoral votes for the president. 

Most states use a winner-take-all system; whoever gets the most votes in the popular election will get all its electoral votes (except for in Maine and Nebraska, who use proportional representation for its electors).

Electors meet in their respective states in mid-December to cast their presidential votes. Congress then convenes in January to count and certify states’ electoral votes before the president is sworn in on January 20.

Although there is no Constitutional law that requires electors to vote for the candidate for whom they are pledged, the electors usually do.

In the rare event of an electoral tie—if each candidate wins 269 electoral votes—members of the House of Representatives would decide the outcome of the presidential election, and the Senate would choose the vice president. 

So when you’re voting for a presidential candidate, you aren’t voting for president; you’re telling your state which candidate to choose at the meeting of electors. 

Swing states, also known as “battleground” or “purple” states, are states which could “swing” either to Democrats or Republicans depending on the election. Because of their potential to change stance, candidates usually focus campaigns on winning those states. They’re characterized as states with small vote margins that different political parties win over time. Current swing states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Nevada. 

Proponents of the Electoral College say it ensures all parts of the country are involved in selecting the President, but those against say it gives too much power to swing states and allows the President to be chosen by a handful of states.

No matter what, it is still important to cast your vote on Election Day. You never know which state could become a swing state, and the popular vote can determine a lot about where the country is moving as a whole.

 

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