We are days away from the 2024 United States presidential elections. Most surveys have predicted a close contest between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump. Central to this election is the Electoral College, the process through which Americans elect their President and Vice President. Like the 2016 and 2020 elections, the Electoral College is likely to be a topic of interest this year too. This system has resulted in two presidents being elected without winning the popular vote.
Understanding the Electoral College
The Electoral College is not a place, but a body of electors that formally elects the President and Vice President of the United States. To win the presidency, a candidate must secure a majority – at least 270 – of the 538 electoral votes.
Electors are chosen by the political parties in each state, and in most states, they have to cast their vote for the candidate who wins the popular vote in their state. Most states use a winner-take-all system. This means that the candidate with the most votes in the state gets all its electoral votes. Only Maine and Nebraska use the proportional allocation system, allowing some electoral votes to be split.
The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers as a compromise to balance the influence of populous and less populous states and was influenced by concerns about direct democracy.
How does the Electoral College work?
Each state’s electoral votes are based on its representation in Congress – two for its senators and its number of representatives in the House. This means that larger states have more electoral votes. For example, California has 54 electoral votes, while smaller states like Wyoming have only three. Despite not being a state, Washington DC has three electoral votes.
voting process
- After the general election, the state executive prepares a document called a certificate. It lists the electors for each candidate and shows how many votes each received. This document is sent to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as part of the official election record.
- Voters meet on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December after the election. They cast their votes on separate ballot papers for President and Vice President. The votes are recorded on a certificate of vote, which is also sent to Congress and NARA.
- If a candidate wins the popular vote in a state, he or she generally gets all of that state’s electoral votes (except Maine and Nebraska, which may split their votes).
- On January 6 of the following year, Congress holds a joint session to count the electoral votes. Members of the House and Senate gather in the chamber to conduct this count. The Vice President oversees the counting of votes and announces the results, declaring the President and Vice President elected.
- The President-elect is sworn in on January 20 of the year following the election, officially becoming President of the United States.
- If no candidate receives 270 electoral votes, the election is decided by the House of Representatives, with each state delegation casting one vote for the President. The Senate elects the Vice President.
There is significant debate over this process, with many Americans favoring a popular vote system instead. However, efforts to reform or abolish the Electoral College have not been successful.
Sometimes, voters may not vote for the candidate to whom they have been pledged, known as a “faithful voter”. Although this has happened, it has never changed the outcome of the election.
