- U.S. citizens will soon vote to choose their 47th President.
- The U.S. Constitution mandates that instead of securing the popular vote, the winner is the candidate who clinches the maximum number of electoral college votes.
- Electoral College System
- The electoral college is an intermediary body or process that chooses the U.S. President.
- n this system, voters of each State cast their ballots to choose members (or electors) of the electoral college who then vote to select the President.
- The number of electors accorded to each State is in proportion to its population and mirrors its number of members in Congress — both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- The system was put in place to ensure States got equal representation in the election process.
- Election Process and Voting:
| In case of a tie- The decision moves to the House of Representatives, where each state has one vote. The winning candidate must secure 26 votes from states to be elected President. The new President begins their term on January 20, 2025. If the House fails to elect a President by this date, the Vice-President assumes the role of Acting President until the House reaches a decision. |
- In the lead-up to the election, parties nominate electors in each state.
- The electors from the party that wins the state’s popular vote go on to represent that state in the Electoral College.
- Except for Maine and Nebraska, states follow a “winner-takes-all” system, where the popular vote winner receives all the state’s electoral votes.
- In December, electors typically vote for the candidate who won the state’s popular vote; those who vote otherwise are called “faithless electors,” and some states penalize this.
- With 538 total electoral votes, a candidate needs at least 270 to win the presidency.
| Vice-Presidential Election Process: The Senate elects the Vice-President, with each senator casting one vote. A majority of 51 is required to win. Since these are separate elections, the President and Vice-President may be from different political parties if the Senate and House results differ. |
Dig Deeper: Compare Elections in India with the Electoral College system of the US.
