The powerful votes that decide the winner of the US election
Báo Tuổi Trẻ•31/10/2024
The electoral college system is a 'specialty' of US elections, when the president is not elected directly by voters nor elected through Congress .
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris - Photo: AFP
November 5 is the big day for the US election, when people across the country go to the polls to choose who will lead the world’s largest economy for the next four years. However, the popular vote is not the direct key to the White House for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The deciding vote lies in the hands of the Electoral College – a unique and special element of American politics .
Who are the electors of the US election?
Electors are individuals chosen to represent each state in the presidential election. The votes of the electors are the direct votes for the president of the United States. Each state in the United States is allocated a number of electors based on the number of senators that state has in the federal congress.
Specifically, each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the total number of senators and representatives in that state. While the number of senators is always fixed at 2 people for all 50 states and Washington DC, the number of representatives in each state changes every year and depends on the population of the state. For example, California (the most populous state in the US) has a population of nearly 39 million people and is allocated 52 representatives. Therefore, this state is allocated a total of 54 electoral votes. Meanwhile, the least populous state, Wyoming, has less than 580,000 people, so it is only allocated 1 representative and 3 electoral votes. The number of electors in each state changes from election to election, but the total number of electors nationwide is always fixed at 538 people. Any candidate who wins more than half of the electoral votes, or at least 270 votes, will be elected president.
How does the popular vote affect the results of the US presidential election?
Pennsylvania electors leave after voting for president on December 14, 2020 - Photo: AFP
As mentioned above, the popular vote of hundreds of millions of American voters does not directly elect the president. Instead, that vote plays a decisive role in forming the electoral college in the state in which they vote.
Specifically, most states in the US elect according to the "winner-take-all" principle. This means that electors are not allowed to freely vote for their favorite candidate. Instead, all electors of a state must vote for the candidate who received the majority of popular votes in that state. For example, in the 2020 election, Mr. Joe Biden received 3.45 million popular votes in the state of Pennsylvania. Mr. Trump received 3.37 million votes, only about 80,000 less than Mr. Biden out of more than 6.82 million votes. However, Mr. Biden still won all 20 electoral votes in Pennsylvania, while Mr. Trump was left empty-handed. After the national election day, the Electoral College will be established based on the popular vote results and will vote in December, more than a month after the election day. Specialty of American politics
Americans go to the polls on November 3, 2020 - Photo: REUTERS
The electoral college system was established in the early days of the United States, stipulated in the 1787 Constitution of this country. However, at that time the name "elector" had not been created. The official name as well as adjustments to the electoral college system were made throughout the process of building the country of the United States to adapt to the times. The founders of the United States created this system based on the reconciliation of two popular forms of election: direct election through popular vote and indirect election through Congress. This system ensures the rights and voice of states with small populations, while limiting the concentration of too much power in the hands of states with large populations. If elected by popular vote, the number of votes owned by the state of California would be 67 times the number of votes of the state of Wyoming. However, thanks to the electoral college system, this difference is reduced to only 18 times.
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