how does the American electoral process work?

Question

Im canadian and i realy cant understand whats with the whole electoral coleges or whatever there called

Answer 1

The Electoral College is a compromise arrived on by the founders that recognized the fact that states with small populations would receive almost zero representation if a unicameral Congress was established based on population. Thus they agreed on the Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise), which created a bicameral legislature, one based on population, and one that had equal representation. It guaranteed each state at least three electoral votes that would be comprised of a minimum of one House represenative, and each state would received two Senate positions.

Each State determines how their electoral votes are distributed (eather proportional based on popular vote or all for one). That's the state's right. All states but one use the all for one style. So if you win the state, you get their electoral votes. You need to collect 270 to win. Some people think its not fair, but I like the all for one style, because otherwise states like California and New York would determine the outcome of the election because they go overwhelmingly to democracts, and other states usually have a more even distribution among the political spectrum. The electoral college recognizes that tyranny by the majority is unconsitutional. If the US were to shift to an elections process that was purely based on the popular vote, there would be strong grounds for an appeal because it would essential be state sponsored and created discrimination of the minority.

The electoral voters are appointed in each state. The number is based on representation in Congress (both houses). An elector doesn't have to vote how the state voted, but this is highly illegal in most states. You can receive heavy prison time for being a "radical elector."

University of Wisconsin Political Science Student

Answer 2

straightforward answer. u . s . isn't a right away democracy. we are a democratic republic. For the Presidential election, each and each state holds a properly-liked election the place each and each citizen of balloting age is entitled to vote. those votes are tallied and one in each of two issues occurs counting on the state. whether that could be a "winner take all" state then the nominee with the main votes gets all the electoral votes allowed for that state. whether that could be a proportion state, then the votes are counted and electorates are assigned via the proportion of votes gained via that candidate. Electorates are assigned via a state consistent with inhabitants. that is why an American President can win the election via prevailing in basic terms 5 - 6 states and under 50% generic vote. California, manhattan, Florida all have extensive electoral numbers . . . i think of Florida has 40 5 wile Wyoming has 15. that is basically a matching technique for the primaries . . .it fairly is what you would be watching now. The electorates easily vote for the President . . . and via the way they are under no criminal criminal accountability to vote for the candidate they are representing. The voters is constituted of certainly those that solid paper ballots.

Answer 3

Each state has so many electoral votes depending on their population. The candidate that wins the popular vote wins ALL of the electoral votes for that state (except for two, but don't worry about that). The candidate that recieves the majority of the electoral votes wins the presidency. If there is no majority, the vote goes to the House of Representatives.

Answer 4

Basically a state, depending on it's population, has so many people in the electoral college. The bigger the population, the more in the electoral college. Come election day, whoever wins the popular vote in that state will receive all of the electoral votes(more than likely). So it is possible for a candidate to have less votes than another and still win.

Answer 5

Not very well. The electoral college actually decides who gets elected. After the general election (where everyone votes), the states send their members to the electoral college to vote. In most states, the members must vote, reflecting the popular vote from their state. This process is a left-over from the days before instant electronic communication. In the 1700's and 1800's, it would have been virtually impossible to count every vote, tally them, and get someone in office on time.

Answer 6

On voting day, the majority of America stays home. A few people go to the polls, where they cast their ballot.

The electoral college is a group of old white men who vote for each state. The weight the state carries depends on its size/population...whatever.

Then the president ends up being whoever has the most connections and spent the most money, despite the outcome of the Public/Electoral votes.

Answer 7

What the electoral college really means is that we do not have one presidential election. We have fifty separate state elections. The winner of each one of those fifty state elections gets ALL of the electoral votes of that state (in almost all states). The number of electoral votes that each state has depends on the population, similar to the number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives. This is why a candidate like George Bush in 2000 who did not win a majority of the popular vote nationwide, can still be elected nationwide, because he was deemed to have won enough states to win a majority of votes in the electoral college. Electors are actually people who can actually vote for whomever they want, but they almost always vote for the candidate that they are committed to vote for.

Answer 8

Your state has a certain amount of electorates that actually elect the president they are appointed by the states political party

Answer 9

Don't worry about you not understanding the American electoral process, neither do Americans.

Answer 10

First we vote and then our highest court in our land tells us that they won't allow our votes to be counted so we just stay home from now on.