Because nobody wants to read an article that’s 15 paragraphs long when you only need to know what you need to know and the important things. In the midst of our live coverage of the 2020 Election (which you can watch in the article posted to the front of this newspaper) — some of you have asked for a brief explainer about the electoral college.
Okay so let’s put it frankly. The Electoral College is a questionable system that was built around the time of George Washington and such that was meant for those times. Whether or not the system is appropriate for the 21st century remains to be determined — as many now see it unfit for modern times.
What is it exactly?
The EC is a system of 538 electors (of which 270 are required to win the Presidency/etc.) Those 538 electors (sometimes known as faithless electors) are elected or appointed if you must by the state in which they represent. Now, one of the many problems with the EC system in fact is how some states do in fact. appoint people to the EC system.
People who hold federal offices whether appointed or elected aren’t permitted to be electors under the constitution.
How does it work?
In 48 US states including Washington D.C, the winner of the votes in plurality is then awarded the state’s electoral votes. In Maine and Nebraska, however, the votes are added in the same way but then the remaining are tallied up by the way of Congressional districts. U.S Territs are not actually given any electors for this process.
Fun fact: The EC has gone against the popular vote at least 4 times since the 1800 ‘s.
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