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Why is there an electoral college? How it crowds out the popular vote

Election Day has arrived in America and with it comes a lot of fanfare. Last-minute text messages from fundraisers, “I Voted” sticker selfies on social media, and — later that evening — lots of math.

Once the first polls close, a series of numbers from precincts across the country will be released, and experts will try to decipher what this means for the outcome of the race.

But why is it so complicated? The Electoral College is part of the answer. Instead of a simple nationwide winner-take-all system, the U.S. president is elected by the Electoral College – a delegate-based process that does not always correspond to the popular vote.

Here's how it works and why we have it.

Why is there an electoral college?

When America was founded, the framers of the Constitution created the Electoral College as a middle ground between a president elected by popular vote and a vote in Congress. It was intended to prevent a state with a significant population from having the power to influence the entire election.

The Founding Fathers also feared that relying on the popular vote could help a demagogue gain power, NPR reports, and some states feared giving up power and risking the loss of slavery.

The process is described in both Article II of the Constitution and Article 12Th The change. For many years, the existence of the Electoral College has been criticized for a variety of reasons, including that it excludes third-party candidates and disenfranchises voters in states with higher populations. The National Archives reports that more constitutional amendments have been proposed to change the Electoral College than any other issue.

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How does the electoral college work?

Like much of the American system, the Electoral College is a form of representative democracy. Each state is allocated a certain number of electors equal to the number of its members in the House of Representatives plus its two senators.

With some exceptions, voters cast their ballot for the candidate who won the popular vote in their state. Nebraska and Maine both allow voters to be apportioned in a form of “proportional representation.”

There are 538 total votes in the Electoral College and a candidate needs 270 to win. While the election results are announced with the nationwide counts, the actual Electoral College voting process takes place in mid-December before the president is sworn in in January. In each state, political parties select a slate of electors to represent them in the Electoral College.

Because this process prioritizes winning the electoral votes of certain states over mere majority votes, a candidate can sometimes claim victory in the Electoral College even if fewer Americans overall voted for him. This happened in 2016, 2000 and three times in the 19th century.

Are you waiting for election day results? Stay busy with these activities

Electoral College map with numbers

Here's a breakdown of the electoral votes in each state, as well as the votes from Washington DC, where there are three votes.

Contributor: Fernando Cervantes

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