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In the United States, whoever gets the most votes does not become president, but whoever in the states has the most electorate. The system is very controversial.
By Teresa Eder for tagesschau.de
In the United States, although all voters are equal, some votes are more decisive than others. Right now, for example, there is a big difference if someone lives in California or Florida. Because in California it is already clear that on November 3 the majority of voters will vote Democrats and therefore the votes of all electorates in the state will go to Joe Biden. In Florida, on the other hand, a few thousand votes in highly competitive electoral districts will ultimately determine who has won the so-called decisive state.
In almost all states the “winner takes all” principle is applied, that is, whoever wins a state gets all the votes of the electorate. This electoral body, the Electoral College, votes last, and the candidate who gets 270 votes or more becomes president.
So it happens that five presidents have been elected in the US who did not have a majority vote in the population, most recently Donald Trump in 2016. Most Americans see this system as unfair and, according to a Pew Research poll , they would like it to be abolished. Right now, however, reform is a long way off.
How did the Electoral College come about?
Originally, the idea was to limit the power of the government in Washington. Thus, the presidential election was anchored at the state level with a voting system. The Electoral College, which was convened especially for the election, must in turn ensure that the governors have no influence on the election of the president. The complicated procedure is the result of a series of compromises in the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Who names the 538 voters?
Basically local governors and parliaments. They follow the results of the elections in your state. That is, the 538 electorate represents the population of the 50 states of the United States. California, for example, has more electoral men and women, that is, 55, than Florida (29), because California has more inhabitants than the “Sunshine State.”
If Joe Biden gets the most votes in Florida’s Nov. 3 election, the state governor and parliament will send 29 Democratic voters to the Electoral College.
The electorate will not formally cast their vote for the candidate who has won in their state until December 14; the result should be known by then. The vote is reported to Washington. All Electoral College votes will be counted there on January 6, 2021. It does so in Congress under the supervision of Vice President Mike Pence. Only then are the presidential elections officially closed.
What are “Voter Duels”?
Some constitutional experts fear that tight election results in so-called swing states or delays in counting vote-by-mail documents in special situations could lead to stalemate. That is, if there is a dispute over the outcome in states with a Democratic governor but a Republican majority in parliament, that is, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, then either party could be tempted to nominate voters. Then there is talk of “grieving voters.”
If President Trump leads the Election Day tally in one or more of these states, the state legislature could come under pressure to nominate Republican voters, even if there is still no official result on Dec. 14. Democratic governors, for their part, could assume that Biden would win and establish democratic constituencies.
It is not clear who will be the electorate that the United States Congress will later count at the federal level. What will the United States Senate do if the Republican majority remains there? If the United States Congress does not reach a decision, the United States Supreme Court could also be involved.
It would not be the first time that they have faced electoral confrontations: in 1876 there was a deadlock after the elections in three states of the United States. However, a deal was negotiated before the January inauguration: Republican Rutherford B. Hayes became President of the United States.
Why was the Electoral College not abolished?
To change the Constitution of the United States and thus abolish the Electoral College, the Congress of the United States needs a two-thirds majority. Currently, Republicans and Democrats are unlikely to win a two-thirds majority because Congress is so divided. Furthermore, the Republican Party traditionally benefits from the electoral system. Therefore, he would have little incentive to give it up anyway.
Unlike parliamentary democracies, it is very rare in the United States for the constitution to be changed due to the two-party system. The last time it happened was in 1992. The 27th Amendment, passed at that time, stipulates that members of Congress can only change their salaries after an election.
What reform proposals are there?
Over the past two centuries, more than 700 proposals have been tabled in the United States Congress to reform the electoral system. The goal of many proposals was that the states of the United States with few inhabitants no longer receive a disproportionate weight in Washington.
An attempt to make the system fairer even without a majority in Congress is a statewide draft. The “National Interstate Popular Vote Pact” is a pact that would oblige states to vote for the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in the entire country, regardless of local results.
So far, 15 states have signed this pact. But for it to really take effect, it needs a majority. In this way, electoral votes are counted again. Therefore, more states are needed to join the alliance.
