[ad_1]
The choice is, as always, simple: a Republican or a Democrat. This time, re-election hopeful Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. It is true that others are participating in the elections: the libertarian Jo Jorgensen, the green Howie Hawkins.
On the ballot for all twelve states, voters will also see the name of famous rapper Kanye West. Although this developer has no chance of winning, he can ruin the affairs of the main candidates, especially Biden.
Photo by Vida Press / Kanye West
The role of these candidates, who generally get a small percentage of the votes and almost never win in individual states, is only to subtract votes from the favorites. This happened in the 2000s, when the relatively popular Green candidate Ralph Nader underestimated the Democrat Al Gore’s chances of defeating Republican George W. Bush.
On the other hand, almost anyone can run for president in the United States. If a person is born in the United States, has turned 35, and has lived in the country for the past 14 years, they can embark on a march to the White House.
In Colorado, not only Biden, Trump, Jorgensen or Hawkins, but also Brian Carroll, Blake Huber, Mark Charles, Gloria La Riva, Phil Collins and many others have targeted presidents.
Scanpix / AP Photo / Donald Short
Nationally, many of these candidates are unknown, but they can win a relatively large number of votes in individual states. Suppose in Utah in 2016, 21.54 percent. the voters supported independent candidate Evan McMullin.
The electoral system itself is quite complex and can turn your head. After all, in fact, voters do not vote for candidates, but for voters, although the latter are not on the ballot.
VIDEO: American electoral system
The 50 US states and the District of Columbia (Washington) have a fixed number of voters, and the number of voters depends on the size of the state in terms of population.
For example, California, a billionaire, has 55 voters, while Wyoming, which is a desert, has only 3 voters. The system is widely criticized for having a disproportionate number of voters in small states.
Scanpix Photo / US Voter Queues
In Wyoming itself, a voter has 193,000 votes. population, and in California, up to 718 thousand. population. That means that vote represents more than three times the number of voters in California than in Wyoming.
There are a total of 538 voters who make up the electoral college, and it is she who votes in December, not on November 8. A candidate is elected president who gets 270 votes.
In 2016, Trump defeated Clinton in Florida by just 2.2 percent. points, but he was the one who received all the votes of the 29 voters, which was very important.
The Electoral College works on a simple principle: all the votes of the voters of a given state go to the candidate who received the most votes, they are not divided proportionally. For the most popular candidate, all electoral votes are not limited to Maine and Nebraska.
In Florida, for example, Trump beat Clinton by just 2.2 percent in 2016. points, but he was the one who got all the votes from all 29 voters, which was very important.
Similar differences are found in a circle of other major fluctuating states, so while Clinton got more votes across the country than Trump, the latter celebrated victory when necessary and garnered more votes from voters.
AFP / Photo by Scanpix / Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the last presidential debate in 2016
That’s why Biden’s campaign this time pays special attention to fluctuating states and is quite confident in leading many of them.
In 21 states, voters are not formally required to vote for a voter-backed candidate, but historically that tradition has rarely been violated and does not affect the outcome of elections.
Voters are often appointed by state officials and their loyal representatives to their parties.
VIDEO: 15min explains: how do Americans vote for the president?
Many US states have been “blue”, meaning they have voted for a Democratic or “red” candidate. The latter traditionally vote for the Republicans.
Historically, the colors of the states have changed many times, but now the typical “blue” states are New York and California. “Red”: Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky.
The states of Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin have been considered fluctuating states and therefore very important for some time.
There is a tendency for states like Texas or Georgia, once considered Republican strongholds, to gradually turn blue. And this year, Biden may celebrate his victory, which would basically bury Trump’s chances.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Joe Bidenas
Precisely because many states in the United States are powerful strongholds of one major party, so-called fluctuating states – those in which you vote for a Democrat or a Republican – have been the fiercest fights in recent presidential elections.
The states of Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin have been considered fluctuating states and therefore very important for some time.
True, this year, due to Trump’s unpopularity, the position of Republicans in Texas and Georgia is reeling, and the once-rich red states of Colorado and Virginia have turned blue much earlier.
Such a complex electoral system with many safeguards was elected in 1787 by the founding fathers of the United States. They abandoned the idea of direct presidential elections because they thought that people would vote for local candidates and then no favorites would emerge.
The president, elected by the electoral college, usually receives the majority of the votes. It is true, for example, that in 2000, Democrat A. Gore voted 51 million. voters, and 50.4 million for Republican GWBush, but based on electoral college votes, the latter won.
AFP / Photo by Scanpix / Former US Vice President Al Gore
This is the first time in 112 years that a situation has arisen in which the winner of the election has not been the most popular candidate. The second such case, as mentioned, was recorded in 2016, when Clinton supported nearly $ 66 million. voters and D. Trump only 63 million, but the latter defeated.
If Democrat J. Biden were elected president and Republicans retained control of the Senate, paralysis would continue to reign in Washington.
By the way, even after recalculating the votes and taking all possible legal measures, there is a chance that the election will end in a total tie, with both candidates getting 269 votes each. In that case, the new president of the United States would be chosen by the House of Representatives.
Finally, Americans on Tuesday will elect not just the president, but all 435 members of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate.
Legislative power in the United States is crucial and if, for example, Democrat J. Biden were elected president and the Republicans retained control of the Senate, Washington would continue to reign paralyzed.
[ad_2]
