The public does not directly elect the President for this highest post of America.The electoral vote is made up of the Electoral CollegeA group of officials is formed by public vote, which is called the Electoral College.
In the results of the US elections, Republican Party’s Donald Trump has gone far ahead of the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the counting of electoral votes. According to the news till 11 am, Kamala Harris has got 210 electoral votes while Trump has got 246. Electoral votes are very important. Whoever gets 270 votes out of total 538 electoral votes will get majority. So let us know what are electoral votes and what is their relation or not with public votes.
For this highest post of America, the people do not directly elect the President, rather the electoral vote works for this, which is made up of the Electoral College.
What is the electoral college?
The Electoral College is actually a body which is formed by the votes of the public. It can also be understood that a group of officials is formed by the public’s vote, which is called the Electoral College. These are electors and together they choose the President. The Vice-President is also elected by this body.
The Electoral College works differently
There are a total of 538 members in it, but the electors of each state are elected according to the population of that state. That means if a state is big, more electors will be elected from it so that it can represent its population properly. For example, California has a large population, hence there are 55 electors there. At the same time, there are only 3 members in Washington DC, who will play a role in electing the President.
A candidate needs 270 or more votes to win the election – indicative photo (pikrepo)
What kind of mathematics do parties do?
A presidential candidate needs 270 or more votes to win the election. Whichever party wins in a state, all the electors belong to it. This is the reason that instead of focusing on all the states in America, the candidate focuses on some specific states so that if his party wins, its number of members in the Electoral College increases. In such a situation, he gets closer to the post of President.
Popularity does not guarantee victory
This is the reason why even after becoming more popular among the voters, it is not certain that the candidate will become the President. If it cannot get 270 votes in the Electoral College then defeat is certain. As happened in the last election also, when Hillary got more love from the voters but she could not win. According to a BBC report, this trend has been going on continuously for the last five elections in America.
What is swing state?
Apart from this, there are also many swing states, where opinions keep changing rather than being the stronghold of any one party. This time, these states will play a big role in the tough competition. These include the states of Georgia, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona and Nevada.
Even after being more popular, it is not a guarantee that the candidate will become the President. Photo (CNBC)
where are how many votes
By the way, it can also help in understanding the American elections to see how many electoral votes are there in which state. First of all let’s talk about California. It is at the top with 55 electoral votes, that is, it is the most important. Texas has 38 votes. Florida and New York both have 29 votes, making a total of 58. Illinois and Pennsylvania have 20 votes each. Ohio is also an important state, where it has 18 votes. Georgia and Michigan have 16 votes each. North Carolina has 15 electoral votes. New Jersey has 14 votes, while Virginia has 13 votes.
What are the shares of these states?
Now talking about the political headquarters Washington, there are 12 electoral votes here. Arizona, Indiana, Massachusetts and Tennessee get 11 votes each. Similarly, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin have a total of 40 electoral votes. Alabama, Colorado and South Carolina have 9 votes each. Kentucky and Louisiana have a total of 16 electoral votes.
21 votes are equally divided in Connecticut, Oklahoma and Oregon. Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah have a total of 36 electoral votes. New Mexico and West Virginia have 5 votes each. Hawaii, New Hampshire and Rhode Island get 4 votes each. In the remaining states, electoral votes are divided three to three. In this way, there are a total of 538 votes, which decide who will become the President of America.
Tags: Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, US Election, US elections, US Presidential Election 2024
FIRST PUBLISHED : November 6, 2024, 11:24 IST