How does the electoral faculty course of work?
The electoral faculty is pivotal this election season. Matt Grossmann, Professor of American Politics and Public Coverage at Michigan State College, joins LiveNOW from FOX to debate.
WASHINGTON – Electors at state capitols throughout america gathered to solid their electoral votes on Tuesday to formalize President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris within the 2024 election.
November’s election was simply one of many many steps included within the presidential election course of.
Trump’s comeback
Trump had a historic comeback within the 2024 election after shedding 4 years in the past to President Joe Biden.
Trump swept all seven of the hotly-contested battleground states, successful 312 electoral votes, in comparison with Harris’ 226. The quantity wanted to clinch the presidency is 270.
How does the electoral faculty work?
The Electoral Faculty was devised on the Constitutional Conference in 1787. It was a compromise between those that needed direct common elections for president and those that most popular to have Congress determine.
As soon as votes are solid for whichever presidential candidate, the vote goes to a statewide tally.
In 48 states and Washington, D.C., the winner will get all of the electoral votes for that state.
For instance, California has 55 electoral votes. As soon as voters solid their ballots, whoever has the upper tally of votes, that candidate will then get all 55 electoral votes.
When is the deadline?
As soon as electors solid their votes for president and vice chairman, they report their outcomes on Certificates of Votes.
They need to ship this certification to the president of the Senate (Harris) and the Nationwide Archives in Washington, D.C. by Dec. 25 to be included within the official rely.
The ultimate rely will happen on Jan. 6, 2025, when Congress convenes to rely the electoral votes.
Widespread vote v. electoral votes
Sure, there’s a distinction.
It’s doable for a presidential candidate to win the favored vote and nonetheless lose the election as a result of they had been unable to get a majority of electoral votes, however this not often occurs.
Most frequently, the favored vote and the electoral vote mirror one another, however there are few cases in historical past when the 2 have differed. Most not too long ago, in 2016, Trump received the Electoral Faculty however misplaced the favored vote to Hillary Clinton.
In different U.S. elections, candidates are straight elected primarily based on the favored vote. Solely the president and vice chairman aren’t straight elected by residents. They’re chosen primarily based on the Electoral Faculty course of.
