The Election

On the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, voters cast their ballots for president and vice president. A party's presidential and vice presidential candidates are voted for as a team, not individually. The entire House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and many state and local officials are also elected at this time. Thanks to voting machines and computers, Americans usually know most of the winners by late evening. In fact, the television networks often predict the results of an election as soon as the polls close. They do this by conducting exit polls-asking voters in scientifically selected precincts how they voted.

The president and vice president are not actually chosen by how many people vote for them (the popular vote); instead, they are chosen by electoral votes. Altogether, there are 538 electoral votes; it takes 270 (a majority) to win. When citizens cast votes for pres­idential and vice presidential candidates, they are selecting their state's electors (peo­ple chosen under state laws and procedures to cast each state's votes for president and vice president). Each elector is expected (although not legally required) to vote for the candidate who wins the majority of the popular votes in that state. These electors as a group are called the Electoral College.

The number of electors for each state is equal to the total number of representatives and senators who represent that state in Congress. (In addition, the District of Colum­bia has three electoral votes.) Thus, states with larger populations have more electoral votes. In all states except Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the largest number of popular votes receives all of a state's electoral votes. With this system, it is possible for a candidate to receive more popular votes than an opponent but fewer elec­toral votes and, therefore, lose the election. This can happen when a candidate loses by small margins in states with many electoral votes and wins by large margins in states with few electoral votes (as shown in the chart below). Only three American presidents have reached the White House by losing the popular vote but winning the majority of electoral votes. This happened in 2000, when George W. Bush was elected. When the Electoral College votes, it is also possible, in some states, for an elector not to cast his ballot for the candidate who won the popular vote in that state. However, since electors are important members of their political parties, this rarely happens.

Sample of Popular and Electoral Votes from the 2000 Presidential Election

	Popular Vote
	Democrat	Republican
States	(AI Gore)	(George W. Bush)	Electoral Vote
Iowa	634,475	629,521	7 Democrat
Kansas	391,026	614,419	6 Republican
Utah	201,732	512,161	5 Republican
Wisconsin	1,240,266	1,234,167	11 Democrat
Totals	2,467,499	2,990,268	18 Democrat
			11 Republican

To be elected, candidates for president and vice president must receive a majority of the votes in the Electoral College. If no candidate receives a majority, the House of Rep­resentatiyes chooses the president from the top three candidates. Each state has one vote for president. The Senate chooses the vice president from the two top candidates. Each senator has a vote. This has only happened once, in 1824, when John Quincy Adams was elected.

This Electoral College method of choosing the president has been criticized as old-fashioned and undemocratic. However, states with small populations do not want to change it. They have a greater proportional vote in the Electoral College than they would have if the president were chosen by popular vote.

Check your comprehension.

What`s the difference between popular votes and electoral votes?

Which type of vote elects a president?