November seems to be quickly approaching. The conspiracies are at a all time high, Kanye West is throwing himself in the race, and Coronavirus is still real! The closer we get to the Primary Election the more you'll hear talk about whether or not your vote counts and the Electoral College. You took Government in school so You've heard of it but you may not remember what it does exactly.
The President and Vice President are not chose by individual votes. They are chosen by 530 Electors. So why not just choose the person with the most votes? Well according to historical text majority Democracy wasn't ideal for equal representation. Think of it like this 25 people are in a office to pick the cereal they will all eat. The choices are Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops.The people are split between 3 rooms; 7 in room A, 6 in room B, and 12 in room C. In order to win the office vote Toucan Sam plays it smart goes to the room A and C easily gaining the majority vote and wins. Toucan never once considered Room B or anything it wanted or needed because they didn't have enough people to swing the majority Seems fair though right? The Toucan went and got the big group to vote for him so of course he earned his win. Now lets take this a step further. Let's say regardless of the number of people in the room each room gets one vote. Individuals cast their votes to influence the one big vote by the room. Now it's important to visit all the rooms because with 3 votes you need 2 to win. This is the Electoral College.
Now is this an out dated system? So many people believe that it is. If votes were based by popularity Hilary Clinton would have won, she had the most individual votes but Trump secured 270 votes of the 530 so he won. So again why vote if Electors will represent my vote. Your vote is the Electoral Colleges vote. Just like with cereal if the majority of the state votes for Hilary the Electoral College cast their vote for her.
Can states that historically vote Republican change to Democrat? Sure, the Bush election was a great example. New Hampshire was typically a Blue or Democrat state. Bush was able to gain their Electoral vote and won Presidency.
Can Electors see the majority vote of their State and choose they'll vote for somebody else instead. Well, not quite. There have been cases where electors have voted on their on faith and not the peoples voice. They are heavily fined. Whether or not this system will continue to work in future elections is what The Supreme Court is dealing with now.
If you're still having trouble just watch the video below.