How the electoral college elects President of Most powerful democracy?

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Posted on : 22 Oct 2020

Currently, the most powerful democracy in world elects it's president democratically with the electoral college voting system. (This time 3rd November 2020 is the presidential Election Day!) But, what is this system? How does it work? What exactly is elctoral college ? read on the get the answers.

The Electoral College is a body of electors established by the United States Constitution, which forms every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president of the United States. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution, empowers each state legislature to determine the manner by which the state's electors are chosen. The number of electors in each state is equal to the sum of the state's membership in the Senate and House of Representatives. Currently, there are 100 senators and 435 state representatives. In addition, the Twenty-third Amendment, ratified in 1961, provides that the District established pursuant to Article I, Section 8 as the seat of the federal government (namely, District of Columbia) is entitled to the number it would have if it were a state, but in no case more than that of the least populous state. U.S. territories are not entitled to any electors. There are currently 538 electors and an absolute majority of electoral votes, 270 or more, is required to win the election

Following the nationwide presidential election day on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, each state counts its popular votes according to that state's laws to designate presidential electors. In 48 states and Washington D.C., the winner of the plurality of the statewide vote receives all of that state's electors; in Maine and Nebraska, two electors are assigned in this manner and the remaining electors are allocated based on the plurality of votes in each congressional district. States generally require electors to pledge to vote for that state's winner; to avoid faithless electors, most states have adopted various laws to enforce the elector's pledge. Each state's electors meet in their respective state capital on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December to cast their votes. The results are counted by Congress, where they are tabulated in the first week of January before a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives, presided over by the vice president, as president of the Senate. Should a majority of votes not be cast for a candidate, the House turns itself into a presidential election session, where one vote is assigned to each of the fifty states. Similarly, the Senate is responsible for electing the vice president, with each senator having one vote. The elected president and vice president are inaugurated on January 20. The suitability of the Electoral College system is a matter of ongoing debate. Supporters argue that it is fundamental to American federalism, that increases the political influence of small states since the number of electors from each state is the number of senators (two) plus the number of state Representatives. The geographic dimension of the Electoral College requires candidates to appeal to voters outside large cities. Parties must form national coalitions with moderating appeals, contributing to stability of the two-party system. Presently, a decisive choice for president is made without the challenges and recounts in every state that would follow a nationwide popular vote. Critics argue that the Electoral College is less democratic than a national direct popular vote and is subject to manipulation because of faithless electors. Opponents argue that the system is antithetical to a democracy that strives for a standard of "one person, one vote" because it can thwart a presidential choice by the voters with a national majority. There can be elections where one candidate wins the popular vote but another wins the electoral vote, as in the 2000 and 2016 elections. Individual citizens in less populated states with 5% of the Electoral College, have proportionately more voting power than those in more populous states, and candidates can win by focusing their resources on just a few “swing states”.

initially, state legislatures chose the electors in many of the states. From the early 19th century, states progressively changed to selection by popular election. In 1824, there were six states in which electors were still legislatively appointed. By 1832, only South Carolina had not transitioned. Since 1880, electors in every state have been chosen based on a popular election held on Election Day. The popular election for electors means the president and vice president are in effect chosen through indirect election by the citizens.

Since the mid-19th century, when all electors have been popularly chosen, the Electoral College has elected the candidate who received the most popular votes nationwide, except in four elections: 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016.

#POTUS #POTUSelection #electoralcollege #USelection #US2020 #USA #TumpVsBiden #3rdNov2020 #election 

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Posted on : 22 Oct 2020