When political outsider Donald Trump defied polls and predictions to defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election, he called the victory “beautiful.”
Not everyone agreed.
Clinton, the Democratic candidate, had actually received nearly three million more votes nationwide than her Republican opponent.
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Non-Americans, especially, were puzzled that the candidate with fewer popular votes could be declared the winner.
Yet Trump had met the requirements of the US system: winning enough individual states, sometimes by narrow margins, to secure the 270 Electoral College votes needed for the presidency.
As the 2024 election showdown between Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris nears, the focus is once again on this unique, sometimes controversial, system.
Why an Electoral College?
The US Electoral College, comprising 538 members, convenes in each state’s capital after each presidential election to formally select the president.
To win, a candidate must achieve a majority of these “electors” — at least 270 out of 538.
The Electoral College was established by the US Constitution in 1787 as a compromise between direct election with universal suffrage and election by Congress, which was seen as insufficiently democratic.
Because most states predictably lean toward either Republicans or Democrats, candidates focus heavily on the few “swing” states likely to decide the election — often sidelining larger states such as left-leaning California and right-leaning Texas.
Over the years, hundreds of amendments to reform or abolish the Electoral College have been proposed in Congress, but none have passed.
Trump’s 2016 victory reignited debate. And if the 2024 race is as close as most polls predict, the Electoral College will undoubtedly be under the microscope once again.
Who Are the 538 Electors?
Most electors are local officials or party leaders, though their names aren’t on ballots.
Each state has as many electors as it has members in Congress — one for each Representative (based on population) and two for each Senator.
For instance, California has 54 electors, Texas 40, while sparsely populated states like Alaska, Delaware, Vermont, and Wyoming each have three.
Washington, DC, despite having no voting members in Congress, also receives three electors.
The Constitution leaves it to each state to decide how its electors vote. All but two states (Nebraska and Maine) use a winner-takes-all system, where the candidate with the most popular votes claims all the state’s electors.
A Controversial Institution
In 2016, Trump won 306 electoral votes, well above the 270 required.
It wasn’t the first time a president lost the popular vote yet won the White House. Five presidents have reached office this way, beginning with John Quincy Adams in 1824.
In 2000, Republican George W. Bush’s victory over Democrat Al Gore resulted in a major controversy. Gore won nearly 500,000 more votes nationwide, but Bush secured Florida’s electoral votes after a Supreme Court ruling, clinching a narrow win with 271 electoral votes.
Faithful or Faithless Electors?
The Constitution doesn’t mandate how electors must vote, though some states have laws requiring them to follow the popular vote, with penalties for “faithless electors” who don’t. In July 2020, the Supreme Court upheld states’ rights to penalize faithless electors, though they have yet to alter an election outcome.
Electoral College Schedule
On December 17, electors will meet in their states to cast votes for president and vice president. By law, this meeting occurs “on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December.”
On January 6, 2025, Congress will meet to certify the election results, a process closely watched this year after a mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, trying to stop certification.
Then, it was Republican Vice President Mike Pence, presiding over the Senate, who certified Biden’s victory, defying intense pressure from Trump and the crowd.
This time, the Senate president responsible for certification will be Kamala Harris, now vice president.
On January 20, the new president will be sworn in.
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