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5 Big Questions About the Electoral College

In the final days before the presidential election, you can expect to hear a lot about the Electoral College. It’s not a school or even a place. It’s the unique system the U.S. uses to elect its president.

November 4, 2024

As You Read, Think About: Is the Electoral College the best way to elect a president?

1. Don’t the millions of voters across the country pick the president?

Yes, but not directly. On November 5, voters will have their ballots counted as part of the popular vote. Most will select Kamala Harris’s or Donald Trump’s name on their ballots. But technically all these votes will go toward choosing a small group of people called electors. They are people in each state who have pledged to vote for a specific candidate. 

2. How many electors does each state have?

The number of electors is based on the state’s total number of senators and representatives in Congress. Each state has two senators. The number of representatives is based on population. States with more people have more representatives—and more electors. Washington, D.C., isn’t a state, but it gets three electors. In all, there are 538 electors.

California

Population: 39 million (highest of any state)

2 Senators + 52 Representatives = 54 Electors (most of any state)

3. How does a candidate win?

270 electoral votes needed to win

A candidate needs a majority, or more than half, of the 538 electoral votes to be elected president. The magic number to reach is 270. Nearly every state has a “winner takes all” rule. That means the candidate who wins the most popular votes in a state is awarded ALL of its electoral votes. 

Note: In Maine and Nebraska, electoral votes can be split between candidates.

4. Why do we have such a complicated system? And is it fair?

In 1787, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution had to decide who would elect the president. Should Congress do it? The state governments? Or should regular citizens pick the president in a popular vote? As a compromise, the Framers came up with the system we still have today.

It’s possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote but win the election. That has happened five times, including in 2016. Donald Trump lost the popular vote but won the presidency with 304 electoral votes. Because the candidate with the most popular votes doesn’t always win, some Americans think the Electoral College isn’t the fairest way to pick a president.

5. Which candidate has the edge this year?

The race is too close to call. As Scholastic News went to press, the latest polls gave a good idea of which candidate, Harris or Trump, is expected to win in 43 states. But experts say the seven other states are still up for grabs. They’re known as swing states because they could “swing” to either candidate. (These states are also often called battleground states.) Neither candidate can reach 270 electoral votes without winning at least some swing states.

Check out the map. How is the race shaping up where you live?

Jim McMahon/Mapnman®

1. How is the number of electoral votes a state gets determined?

2. What does the article describe as the “magic number”? Why is this number important?

3. What is the purpose of the map?

adamkaz/Getty Images
popular vote

noun

the voting done by regular citizens, rather than electors, on Election Day

 

On Election Day, millions of Americans will cast their ballots for president in the popular vote.
iStockPhoto/Getty Images
polls

noun, plural

surveys of people’s opinions or beliefs

 

The polls showed that people had different opinions about who was the best athlete of all time.
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