The United States uses a unique system to elect its’ President every 4 years called the Electoral College. To win the election, a candidate must surpass 270 electoral college votes. When somebody in the U.S. casts their vote, they are not voting directly for President, but for a slate of electors chosen by their state’s political party for the party candidate. These electors will vote for the candidate who won their state and send the results to Congress to be counted.

Why do you need 270 to win?

To determine a state’s number of Electoral College votes, it is the total number of Representatives in the House of Representatives + 2 (The number of Senators per State). A state’s number of Representatives is dependent on the population of the state. For example, California, the most populous state with 39 million people has 54 Electoral votes, whereas a small state like Wyoming, which has a population of 600 Thousand has 3 representatives.

The total number of Electoral College votes currently stands at 538, and to gain a majority, a candidate must win 270. Because the number of Electoral College votes depends on the population, the reliability of the U.S. Census plays a vital role in the outcome of the election.

How do states award the winner?

Most states have a “winner takes all” system where the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state receives all of that state’s electoral votes. For example, if Candidate A wins 51% of the vote in Texas, they receive all of Texas’ electoral votes.

The two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska which use a “proportional” system, awarding one electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district and the remaining two electoral votes to the overall state winner.

Why do Maine and Nebraska do it differently?

Maine adopted this system in 1972, and Nebraska followed in 1991, primarily to give representation to different regions of the state. The idea was to provide a more accurate reflection of the state’s diverse political views by allowing different districts the opportunity to support other candidates.

This differing approach is intended to encourage candidates to pay attention to a broader range of areas within each state, rather than focusing solely on urban or highly populated areas.

In theory, the district method gives rural or less populous areas more of a voice in the presidential election outcome, as candidates might campaign in individual districts rather than just aiming to win the entire state.

What is the difference between the House and the Senate?

Size: The House of Representatives has 435 members, and the Senate has 100 members.

Term Lengths: In the House, members face re-election every 2 years, Senators serve 6-year terms with staggered elections, so a third of the Senate has an election every 2 years.

Ability:

House of Representatives:

• Has the power to initiate revenue (tax) bills. All tax-related bills must start in the House.
• Can impeach federal officials (including the president), which means formally charging them with misconduct.
• Focuses more on domestic policy and issues closer to constituents, due to its larger size and frequent elections.

Senate

• Confirms presidential appointments, including Supreme Court justices, federal judges, and Cabinet members.
• Ratifies treaties with foreign nations (requires a two-thirds vote).
• Holds impeachment trials after the House brings charges; a two-thirds vote in the Senate is required to convict and remove an official from office.
• Tends to focus more on foreign policy and long-term national issues.

There are relatively few countries worldwide that have ever used the Electoral College System for general elections. However, it has seen some use in internal governmental elections. For example, it is used in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Germany and was used in the 20th Century in South Africa, Finland, and France.

Such a system can result in outcomes where the elected official does not necessarily reflect the popular vote, leading to discussions about the fairness of such a system. At the end of the day, only about 40% of people in the world have access to vote in a free democracy, meaning it is a privilege that we must not take for granted.

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Cover Image – White House by Joyce N. Boghosian.