The Electoral College, explained
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Published 2020-10-31
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In the 2000 US presidential election, the Democratic candidate got half a million more votes than the Republican. The Democrat lost. Sixteen years later the same thing happened again. In the US, if you run for president, it does not actually matter how many people in the country vote for you. What matters instead is an arcane system for selecting America’s head of state called the Electoral College.
The Electoral College is the reason the US has something called “swing states,” and it’s the reason those places get to decide the future of the country. It’s the reason presidential candidates almost never campaign in the country’s biggest cities. And more recently, it’s also the reason that Republican candidates have been able to eke out victories in the presidential election without actually getting the most votes.
The Electoral College makes some Americans’ votes more powerful than others. In fact, that’s part of the reason we have it to begin with; in the country’s early years, the Electoral College helped give the votes of Southern Whites more weight than the votes of Northerners. The idea at its core, that certain votes simply matter more than others, is baked into the American tradition. In the 2020 election, it may decide the winner.
Further reading:
The historian Alexander Keyssar’s book “Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?” takes you through the history and function of the Electoral College: www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674660151
For the bite-sized version of that history, Keyssar also wrote this piece in the New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/opinion/electoral-colle…
The Times also had a great interactive feature on where the 2020 candidates actually spent money: www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/17/us/politics…
Pew has a breakdown of how democracies around the world elect their head of state, which really shows what an oddball the US is: www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/22/among-dem…
More on why today’s Electoral College gives Republican presidential candidates a structural advantage: www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/17/20868790…
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All Comments (21)
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Fact check: There are a few other democracies that use an electoral college system to pick their president! But what sets the US apart from them is the president’s role. In many countries, the president is less important than the prime minister, or shares power with the prime minister, or is purely a figurehead. But in the US, the president holds all the executive power — they’re the head of government AND the head of state. And there are lots of other presidents like that around the world, but they’re almost always elected by popular vote or by a national legislature. No other democracy follows the US’s example of using an entirely separate body of “electors” to pick the country’s sole leader. Here’s a short article that explains it really well and has a nice map: www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/22/among-dem… So no one really does it like the US does — but we definitely could have been more precise at 0:31. Thanks to all who pointed this out! -Adam
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It’s like every 4years they have to explain this to us
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When I was a kid I though the electoral college was a college that people went to train for being president
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When your state has more senators than representatives lol
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“In America, we do it a little… differently” If that isnt the understatement of the century
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you can be elected as president with 21.9% of the popular vote... yea thats democracy...
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Presidential candidates: Your vote matters! Electoral College: Yesn’t
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Electoral College: “We were created because our founding fathers didn’t want the elections to be decided by 4 states” Also the Electoral College: “the election will be decided to those who wins 4-5 swings states”
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America really said "I'm quirky and different."
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This is a terrible way to decide who becomes King of the Jungle
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Came for the electoral votes but learn the whole US History.
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The REAL reason is because you cant get either party to agree on anything. even if they both want it, one of them will disagree just out of sheer spite and pettiness.
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"Mom can we have democracy?" "We have democracy at home." Democracy at home:
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"Most democracies around the world elect their leader by popular vote" yeah that's called democracy
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Voters in the U.S. : So, we get to vote for who leads our country? The Electoral College: Well yes, but actually no
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"Their biggest defender has always been those benefited the most from it" Nooo waaayyyy
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I love talking about getting rid of the electoral college for a few days after an election then completely forgetting about it until the next election.
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I love it when everbody gets excited about presidential elections, but as soon as its local elections for something that may actually benefit you sooner everybody ignores it
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So your telling me that the election’s outcome is determined by the Florida Man? 😂
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“The people? You cant trust the people” -electoral college
