California has the most electoral votes, with 54. 11, Biden +7), Maine (No. Trump would have won 309 electoral votes, 3 more than the 306 he actually won (excluding faithless electors). 2020 Electoral College Results | National Archives That isnt how a democracy is supposed to work. California has 66 times as many people -- but only 18 times as many Electoral College votes. Yes, and that is what happened in 2016: Although Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by almost three million votes, Donald J. Trump garnered almost 57 percent of the electoral votes, enough to win the presidency. "[53], Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who on December 15 acknowledged Biden's victory the day after the Electoral College vote, privately urged his Republican Senate colleagues not to join efforts by some House Republicans to challenge the vote count,[46] but was unable to persuade Hawley not to lodge an objection. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. Provides for expedited review, including a three-judge panel with a direct appeal to the Supreme Court, of certain claims related to a states certificate identifying its electors. The count of the Electoral College ballots during a joint session of the 117th United States Congress, pursuant to the Electoral Count Act, on January 67, 2021, was the final step to confirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election over President Donald Trump. The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. [22][23] Gohmert argued that the Electoral Count Act of 1887 was unconstitutional, that the Constitution gave Vice President Pence the "sole" power to decide the election outcome, and that Pence had the power to "count elector votes certified by a state's executive", select "a competing slate of duly qualified electors," or "ignore all electors from a certain state. Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. The joint session adjourned twice to debate objections against the votes won by Biden in Arizona and Pennsylvania; both objections were defeated in the House and Senate, with only six Republican senators supporting the former and seven supporting the latter. Click on the number of electoral votes for each state to see its Certificate of Vote. The number of electors currently 538 equals the number of senators and House members, plus three . The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact ( NPVIC) is an agreement among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The idea has public support, but faces a partisan divide, since Republicans currently benefit from the electoral clout of less populous, rural states. So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have approved the pact, covering 196 electoral votes of the required 270 to win the presidency. Alabama has 9 electoral votes. About 40% of voters are independents. [10][11] Within the United States' electoral system, the certificates "[represent] a crucial link between the popular vote and votes cast by electors". The Trump plan began with an effort to persuade Republican officials in the targeted states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to help draft, or to at least put their names on, documents that declared Mr. Trump to be the victor. California and Texas have the most electoral college votes, with 55 and 38 votes respectively. [70] The District of Columbia National Guard, as well as the National Guards and state police of the neighboring states of Virginia and Maryland, were activated within the hour. A candidate needs a majority of 270 electoral votes to win each race. The New York Times called the last two states on its map. The measure would make it more difficult for lawmakers to challenge a states electoral votes when Congress meets to count them. Its structure is derived, of course, from Congress, which was shaped by the same dynamic. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. The Electoral College vs. Popular Vote Explained - The New York Times 3:50 3-Minute Listen Texas has gained two more votes in Congress and the Electoral College for the next decade, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon each. )", "On the Objection (Shall the Objection Submitted by the Gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Perry, and the Senator from Missouri, Mr. Hawley, Be Sustained? [18] If the objection is approved by both Houses, the state's votes are not included in the count. Perhaps they should get over that, July 14). Republican representatives also raised objections against votes for Biden from Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, but these objections failed because they were not co-signed by a senator. Of the current 538electors, an absolute majority of 270 or more electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president. [41], In Pennsylvania and Nevada, the documents explicitly admitted that these "electors in waiting" were not the state's official electors and were only being proposed as alternate electors pending the outcome of Trump's election lawsuits. A new analysis suggests the power of your vote is closely linked to voter turnout in your state. Hes a longtime public figure who could harness some of the liberal dissatisfaction with Bidens presidency so far particularly among otherwise solidly Democratic voting blocs. Can a president lose the popular vote but still win the election? A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. Twin Trump indictments so far which may be solidifying Trumps base in the primary at the expense of voters hed need to win a general election. A presidential candidate needs at least 26 votes to win. Its how many sets you win and not how many games or points you win. [19], On December 18, 2020, a team of Trump allies met the President in the White House and urged him to issue a drafted executive order, "Presidential Findings to Preserve Collect and Analyze National Security Information Regarding the 2020 General Election." Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. Today, electors meet in their respective states on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December Dec. 14 this year to cast separate ballots for president and vice president, with the candidates who receive a majority of votes being elected. [45], In December 2020, several Republican members of the House led by Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama[46][47] as well as Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri,[48] declared that they would formally object to the counting of the electoral votes of five swing states won by Biden during the January 6, 2021, joint session. A special commission named by the House chose Hayes over Samuel J. Tilden, after 20 electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina were disputed. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia, which together control 195 electoral votes, have signed on to an interstate compact in which they pledge to grant their votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The 2016 election made clear that the Electoral College does not weigh votes from all states equally. Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, said Akhil Reed Amar, a professor of law and political science at Yale University. It takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. Although not perfect, this method gives some semblance of democracy. How does the Electoral College process work? 27), Arizona (No. While real state certificates tend to have "their own quirks, their own fancy or not fancy paper and decorations and seals," the Republicans' fake documents had the "same formatting, same font, same spacing, almost the same exact wording, all of them," as MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow noted. When you talk about the Electoral College shaping the election, it shapes the election all the time, because it puts the focus on certain states and not others, said Alexander Keyssar, a professor of history and social policy at Harvard University. Despite its name, the Electoral College is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. The decision on the vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. Lastly, an election-related case could find its way to the Supreme Court, which would lend greater importance to the judicial makeup of the court, Professor Wehle said. How the electoral college has thwarted democracy - Los Angeles Times More about Allyson Waller, https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. But if thousands of votes in a couple of states had been different, Trump might be in the White House now. Letters to the Editor: How the electoral college has thwarted democracy. Distribution of Electoral Votes | National Archives An election-related case could find its way to the Supreme Court, which would lend greater importance to the judicial makeup of the court, said Kimberly Wehle, a law professor at the University of Baltimore. In 48 states and Washington, D.C., the winner gets all the electoral votes for that state. [54] Trevor Potter, a Republican former chairman of the Federal Election Commission and the president of the Campaign Legal Center, wrote that the counting joint session "gives Trump's die-hard supporters in Congress an opportunity to again provide more disinformation about the election on national television. But third-party candidates dont need to have large magnitudes of support to swing an election. If there is a tie vote within a states delegation, the states vote does not count. Discover how your individual vote contributes to the popular vote and your state's electoral vote in different ways--and see how votes are counted on both state and national levels. Other presidents who lost the popular vote but won the presidency include John Quincy Adams and Rutherford B. Hayes in the elections of 1824 and 1876. Letters to the Editor: Expand the L.A. City Council or the L.A. County Board of Supervisors? It did not change the outcome. The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president. PDF files require the free Adobe Reader. Read more about the allocation of electoral votes. [1] If no candidate achieves an absolute majority there, a contingent election is held by the United States House of Representatives to elect the president, and by the United States Senate to elect the vice president. "[32][33][34][35][36], Another proposed method was to reject results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico by alleging that these states had sent competing sets of electors. Each state delegation votes on which candidate to support as a group, with the plurality carrying the day. How does the system work? Amid the debate on Arizona's votes, rioters stormed the Capitol building, causing the count to be temporarily halted until officials could safely return to their chambers. Once the false pro-Trump slates of electors had been created, Mr. Trump and his allies turned to the second part of the plan: strong-arming Vice President Mike Pence into considering them during the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. The event drew unprecedented attention because of the efforts of Trump and his allies to overturn the election results. The traditional, core swing states rank much lower for third-party voting, according to this analysis. Here's what happened", "Tempers flare as House debates PA electoral vote", "The House just rejected an objection to Pennsylvania's electoral vote", "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results", "The Latest: Trump promises 'orderly transition' on Jan. 20", "Congress affirms Biden's Electoral College victory", "Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Tiffany sole Republicans from Wisconsin to object to Joe Biden certification", "Congress confirms Biden election as president, morning after Trump-fueled mob invades Capitol", "Amash's Successor Peter Meijer: Trump's Deceptions Are 'Rankly Unfit' Reason.com", "Rep. Meijer: I experienced the heinous assault on Capitol; now, time to face reality", "Congress Certifies Biden Victory; Trump Pledges 'Orderly Transition' On Jan. 20", "On the Objection (Shall the Objection Submitted by the Gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Gosar, and the Senator from Texas, Mr. Cruz, and Others Be Sustained? In 2020, only 3 percent of voters said they had an unfavorable opinion of both Biden and Trump, limiting the appetite for other candidates. When Americans cast their ballots, they are actually voting for a slate of electors appointed by their states political parties who are pledged to support that partys candidate. This leads to an intense focus on battleground states, as candidates look to boost their electoral advantage by targeting states that can help them reach the needed 270 votes of the 538 up for grabs. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. Electoral history of Ronald Reagan - Wikipedia For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. In 2020, his followers tried to prevent electoral . Who are they and who picks them? People call them faithless electors. In 2016, seven electors 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans broke their promise to vote for their partys nominee, the most ever in history. There are 538 electoral votes in all. And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. . Ultimately, what happens with the popular vote doesn't matter in deciding who becomes President of the United States. In this lesson, students will learn about the Electoral College how it works in a presidential election and why it was created and consider whether it needs to be reformed. Federal office holders cannot be electors. The electors are appointed by the political parties in each state. That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College, which is back in the news following revelations about former President Donald J. Trumps scheme to manipulate the system by creating false slates of electors in an effort to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break that pledge. [53] Other Senate Republicans were noncommittal or opposed to the attempt to subvert the election results. The point was to persuade Mr. Pence to say that the election was somehow flawed or in doubt, or to delay the certification of the electors count. An objection by Morgan Griffith (VA-9) to Lamb's words was denied over timeliness, during which Andy Harris (MD-1) and Colin Allred (TX-32) argued with each other, causing a disruption. "[59] In a separate statement, Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, denounced his Republican colleagues who have sought to overturn the election results, terming them "the institutional arsonist members of Congress" and the submission of objection to counting the electoral votes as a "dangerous ploy" by Republican members of Congress who, in seeking "a quick way to tap into the president's populist base", were pointing "a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government. The word college in this case simply refers to an organized body of people engaged in a common task. Your State has the same number of electors as it does Members in its Congressional delegation: one for each Member in the House of Representatives plus two Senators. compared with California's rate of one . Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. The Electoral College is a method for indirectly electing the president of the United States. Over the 2016 and 2020 elections, no state has cast a greater average of votes for non-major-party candidates than Utah, where a home-state candidate, Evan McMullin, won 22 percent of the vote in 2016. (Until the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the candidate with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president.). Because of the objection, the joint session adjourned at 1:15p.m. to allow each chamber to debate and vote on the objection. [12] The certificates must bear the state seal and the governor's signature. [91] The joint session was dissolved by Pence at 3:44a.m.[92], Republican Congressman Peter Meijer said that several of his Republican colleagues in the House would have voted to certify the votes, but did not out of fear for the safety of their families,[93] and that at least one specifically voted to overturn Biden's victory against their conscience because they were shaken by the mob attack that day. "[64] On January 4, Tarrio was arrested by D.C. police on misdemeanor and felony charges. A bipartisan group of senators has proposed new legislation to modernize the Electoral Count Act, a law passed in 1887 that was intended to settle disputes about how America chooses its presidents, which the senators have called archaic and ambiguous. President Donald J. Trump attempted to abuse the law on Jan. 6, 2021, to interfere with Congresss certification of his election defeat. If 2024 is a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden, third-party candidates could get even more traction with both holding nearly identical 39-percent favorable ratings, according to RealClearPolitics average. The important number is 270. More information on Adobe Acrobat PDF files is available on our Accessibility page. [23][27][28] The next day, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Gohmert's suit in a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel. It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. US States By Electoral Votes Infographic: Map of US Electoral College votes by state. Can there be a tie? [49] In December Brooks organized three White House meetings between Trump, Republican lawmakers, and others, including Vice President Pence and members of Trump's legal team. This is because the president is not. Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. According to a POLITICO analysis, none of the top 20 states for third-party voting in the past two presidential elections is broadly considered a swing state, and only three of the top 20 were states where the winning candidates margin in 2020 was within single digits: Minnesota (No. The New York Times called the last two states on its map on Nov. 13: Georgias 16 electoral votes for Mr. Biden and North Carolinas 15 for Mr. Trump. That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College. This announcement concludes the joint session and formalizes the recognition of the president-elect and of the vice president-elect. To win, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes of the 538 that are up for grabs. More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. Raises objection threshold from one member of each chamber to 20% of each chamber. The results of Arizona were then objected to by Paul Gosar (AZ-4) and Ted Cruz (TX). Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for their pledged candidate. As Brooks confirmed at the time, the purpose of the meetings was to strategize about how Congress could overturn the election results on January 6. | Win McNamee/Getty Images. The winner of the states popular vote gets two electoral votes, and one vote is awarded to the winner of the popular vote in each congressional district. On election day, polling stations are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.. To find out the address of your polling station, please check the reminder card you will receive in the mail or contact the returning officer.. If unaffiliated candidates qualify, they also . The session resumed the tallying of the results. Its just like in tennis, he said. In 2020, Gallup reported that 61 percent of Americans supported abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. Analysis of way-too-early polling by FiveThirtyEight suggests that those third-party candidates currently draw more voters away from Biden than Trump.