A social media “friend” asked me to explain the Electoral College, so that is what I will try to do.
You ready? Here goes.
The Electoral College comprises 538 votes, the number of people elected to the US House and Senate. The electors aren’t the actual senators and reps, but they are chosen to cast votes for president.
Each state has electors equal to the number of senators and reps who represent that state in Congress. Texas has 40 electoral votes, which equals the state’s 38 House members and two senators.
We go to the polls on Election Day and whoever wins that state’s electoral votes is entitled to garnering the state’s electoral votes. Except that the electors aren’t bound to follow the will of the voters. Occasionally, we see electors casting their presidential vote for someone other than the candidate who fielded the most votes on Election Day.
Ideally, what is supposed to happen is that the candidate with the most votes wins the most Electoral College votes, which are tabulated and ratified every Jan. 6, two weeks before the president is inaugurated. So … the infamous assault on the Capitol in 2021 occurred during a “normal” transition of power.
Joe Biden won the 2020 election with 306 electoral votes compared to the 232 compiled by Donald Trump. The winner needs to earn 270 electoral votes to win the election.
I won’t venture too far into the weeds to explain why the founders set it up this way, other than to presume they intended to spread the power among all the states. It’s interesting, therefore, to realize that the “battleground states” where Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump are fighting for votes are not among largest states. Texas, New York, California and Florida are not considered battlegrounds; that title belongs to Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina … and you can throw in Arizona and Nevada as well.
Hope that explains it. Now I’ll have to shake my noggin to clear out the fog I just developed trying to make a bit of sense of it all.
The simplistic explanation is to keep the large cities across the nation from determining our leaders. Thatās not why the founding fathers set it up, or is it? Did they have the foresight to see the growth of this great nation and wanted to make sure the smaller cities werenāt left out for true representation? I canāt answer that for sure. I do know that if it werenāt for the electoral college, Los Angeles, anew York, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Minneapolis and a few others would determine all elections. Iām sure thatās what the founding fathers did not want.
Oh, as far as the electorate not casting votes for the candidate that won their state, thatās where a war could happen. I know they can, but should they? Seems like that would be treasonous. Just my opinion.
āOh, as far as the electorate not casting votes for the candidate that won their state, thatās where a war could happen. I know they can, but should they? Seems like that would be treasonous. Just my opinion.ā BJ
And yet that is exactly what Trump asked VP Pence and Congress to do in 2020.
Some Trump loyalist are claiming Trump will win all fifty states if the election is fair. They are already setting up a war-like scenario if Trump loses.
Undermining the confidence in our elections and every system of government is dangerous – and Trump revels in it.
Lord have mercy.
āWar-like scenarioā, like the military drill this last weekend at the Whitehouse?
Thatās not exactly what Trump wanted from
Pence, but okay if thatās what you think happened. Pence couldnāt control the stateās electoral. Each state electoral rep does that. Still not a good thing at all that happened.
I believe itās very close to treason as well. Of course Iām no constitutional lawyer. So, what do I know.
The left keeps saying to get rid of the electoral college. Harris has said that it needs to be looked at. Why would you think theyād want to get rid of it unless they know big cities, which are all ran by democrats would carry the vote for the country. If you look at maps, there are zero blue states. Thereās large blue cities that carry states. The majority of California and New York are red outside of big cities. Why do you think that is?
Anyway, just a few more days and this crap will be over! I am so tired of the rhetoric, on both sides.
Maybe we are ALL full of crap!
Who knows anything anymore?
Best to you BJ.
DM,
You may be correct!
Have a good one!