It's Electoral College time
Hear ye, everybody. This is one of those years we elect the electors of the Electoral College. And, once again, we are starting to hear arguments for a popular vote rather than an Electoral College vote to select our next president.In 2000, George W. Bush became president because he won more electoral votes than Al Gore even though Gore won the total popular vote. Jeez, how can that happen? It happened because the Constitution states that we elect electors, and they elect the president.
Each state gets one elector for each of its congressional districts, plus two for its U.S. senators. Washington D.C. gets three special electors. So, while a state’s voters might vote 2-1 for a particular candidate, the state only receives the number of electors for which it is eligible.
Most states have a “winner take all” system that awards all electors to the winner of the popular vote. A drawback to this system is the disenfranchisement of the losing voters in a close election (e.g. 300-299). The only states not following that system are Maine and Nebraska. There, the state winner gets two electors and the winner of each congressional district receives one elector.
Bob Druktanis, Sharpsburg
