Vision 2020: Electoral College vs popular vote in America – By The Associated Press (ABC News) / Sept 14 2020
One of the quirks of the U.S. election process is that one candidate can win the popular vote but another can win the electoral vote and thus the presidency
WASHINGTON — Election Question: Why is it that one candidate can win the popular vote but another wins the electoral vote and thus the presidency?
Answer: That’s how the framers of the Constitution set it up.
This unique system of electing presidents is a big reason why Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. Four candidates in history have won a majority of the popular vote only to be denied the presidency by the Electoral College.
The Electoral College was devised at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It was a compromise between those who wanted direct popular elections for president and those who preferred to have Congress decide. At a time of little national identity and competition among the states, there were concerns that people would favor their regional candidates and that big states with denser populations would dominate the vote.
The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus its two senators. (The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress.)
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