Hi, I'm back again. You might see me post some questions from time to time over my summer holidays, but it's not about homework. I am willing to learn a few things over the break.
Anyways, what is an electoral vote that is needed for a U.S. presidental candidate? I'm a bit confused.
Welcome back, AL.
Americans do not directly elect our president. Each state elects members of the electoral college. In most cases they are obligated to vote for the candidate who received the most votes in their state.
Check this site for more details.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/electoral-college.htm
Then why would Americans still vote on Election Day? Does their votes affect the decisions made by the Electoral College? I think they will be a part of the popular vote.
Voters choose their preference for the president they want. Then, states allocate slates of electorial candidates who are committed for a particular candidate. States have different ways of doing this, most do winner take all, but some divide up the electorial candidates proportionally by the vote. This should have been covered in high school.
Americans vote on election day, hoping that their candidate will win the majority of votes in their state. However, if I were a Republican in a solid Democratic state, I'd sure be tempted not to waste my time. The catch is that often elections are upsets. The pollsters don't always know who is going to take the most votes. The famous 1948 Chicago Tribune headline, "Dewey Wins" is an excellent example of a major upset. The newspaper had printed the story after only some of the votes had been counted -- and it was dead wrong.
And of course, there's the 2000 election in which Gore took the majority of the popular votes, but Bush took the majority of the electoral college votes.
Our votes elect the electors. The electors then meet in the Electoral College and THEY formally elect the President/Vice-President based on the results of the state's votes.
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/
Hi there! I'd be happy to explain electoral votes and how they work in the U.S. presidential election.
In the United States, the president is not elected directly by the popular vote. Instead, the president is elected by an institution known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors who represent their respective states and the District of Columbia.
Each state is allocated a certain number of electors, which is determined by the total number of representatives and senators that state has in the U.S. Congress. The number of representatives is based on the population of the state, while every state has two senators.
To become the president, a candidate needs to secure an absolute majority of electoral votes, which is currently 270 out of 538. This means that the candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
During the U.S. presidential election, voters in each state cast their ballots for a candidate, and the candidate who receives the most votes in a particular state wins all of that state's electoral votes, except for Maine and Nebraska, which use a different system. This is known as the "winner-takes-all" system.
The candidate who wins the most electoral votes nationwide becomes the president. In the event of a tie or if no candidate reaches an absolute majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives selects the president from the top three candidates.
So, in summary, the electoral vote is the vote cast by the Electoral College on behalf of the voters in each state, and a candidate needs to secure at least 270 out of 538 electoral votes to become the U.S. president.
If you have any further questions or need more clarification, feel free to ask!