Es temporada de eleccion. Voting season means seeing too many ads on TV and social media, getting flyers in the mail, and all the texts encouraging you to vote. I get it, it can be a bit much. But let me ask you, how many times have you wondered de que estan hablando when it comes to things like the Electoral College? Ever think about how it works? Or even, what it means to your vote.
Electoral College history:
The Electoral College definition is a body of electors chosen by the voters in each state to elect the president and vice president of the U.S.
Si te preguntas, why was the electoral college created? It was with the fear that voters wouldn’t make informed decisions when voting. The federal government did not want to regulate the state’s elections, so the College was el medio between the people and the government. Tambien, many feared that the states with the largest population would end up choosing the President and therefore thought it was better that Congress did it.
You’re probably thinking, “I thought I was voting for my preferred candidate to win the election.” Si, pero no. Although we encourage people to go que salgan a votar during election time it’s the Electoral College that then selects el nuevo Presidente and VP based on the people’s votes.
Electoral College explained:
Aside from las personas that make up the College – it’s also a process.
You head to the polls, vote, get your sticker, te tomas un selfie, and then you go home.
Pero, what you’ve just voted for, is the party’s slate of electors. These are the people your state will send to Washington to vote on your behalf. The Electoral college doesn’t vote for la presidencia until mid-December (which makes sense why Inauguration isn’t until January!).
There are 538 electors in the Electoral College. Cada uno, gets one vote.
The number of electors matches the number of each state’s congressional delegation. This number ranges from three to 55. The number varies based on the population of that specific state. So, recuerdas the Census we asked you to fill out? That’s where the number comes from.
Most states have a winner-takes-all rule. This means the popular vote in a state gets all of the electoral college votes. But, many have electors have decided not to abide by this and have voted otherwise.
How do you win the Presidency? You have to get at least 270 votes.
The Pros and Cons:
Un sistema in between the citizens of our country and the government sounds like a good idea. However, there are many pros and cons of the Electoral College.
As mentioned, one of the reasons the Electoral College was created was as a safeguard between the new President and uninformed or uneducated voters.
However, that’s no longer una buena razon to keep it around. Due to modern technology most voters are able to access the internet if they have questions.
The Electoral College asegura que all states are involved in selecting the new President.
However, it gives a lot of power to the swing states and states with more representates in the College.
Lastly, the Electoral College garantiza certainty in the outcome of the election.
However, it ignores the will of los cuidadanos. There are over 300 million people in the U.S, and only 538 electors. Ademas, most electors are chosen by political parties and can sometimes vote in contrast to what the people have voted for.
The Electoral College es casi como that crush that you believe has really good intentions but you just can’t figure it out. Remember, that regardless of the election outcome, es importante salir y votar, whenether locally or nationally. Tu voto siempre cuenta!