US election: What is the Electoral College and how does voting determine the president

THREE KEY FACTS

• Americans go to the polls on Tuesday, November 5 (Wednesday New Zealand time).
• There are seven key swing states that will determine the presidency.
• The Electoral College is made up of 538 elected members, one for each US senator and US representative, plus three for Washington, DC.

David Millward is the Daily Telegraph’s US Correspondent.

OPINION

In 2016, Donald Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton but became President as a result of his winning a majority in the Electoral College.

It was the fifth time in the history of the United States that a president has won the Oval Office and lost the popular vote.

Regarded as an anachronism by critics, there have been an estimated 700 attempts to scrap the Electoral College or reform it.

The first was made by Alexander Hamilton, one of the college’s original architects in 1802 and the most recent was in 1969 when a constitutional amendment was given overwhelming backing by the House of Representatives, but talked out by opponents in the Senate.

When the amendment was finally brought before the Senate in 1979, it was backed by a majority of senators but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for a constitutional amendment.

Where did it begin?

The Electoral College dates back to the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, which gathered to put together a constitution for the fledgling nation.

At the time no country directly elected its head of state, so handing the choice over to the popular vote would have been entering uncharted territory.

While some delegates felt that allowing the legislature to choose the president could pave the way to behind-the-scenes deals and corruption, the majority feared the consequences of handing the choice over to “the mob” who, it was argued, would know little about the qualities of the candidate.

How does it work?

The Electoral College was, in effect, a compromise, allowing the people to vote for “electors” who would make the choice on their behalf.

There are 538 members of the Electoral College – which means a presidential candidate must secure the backing of 270 electors.

States’ allocation of electors is based on population and, as a result of the 2020 Census, 13 states saw the size of its delegation change.

Texas gained two seats in the college. Five other states, Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon, each gained one.

California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia each lost one.

How are members chosen?

Members of the Electoral College are chosen by the nominee for president.

In reality, they are chosen by the party campaign in co-operation with local activists.

To reduce the risk of electors going “rogue”, members of the college would be reliable party members with a track record of falling into line.

They meet in State Capitols on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to cast their ballots.

The certified results are then sent to Washington where, on January 6, the votes are tallied in a joint session of Congress, presided over by the sitting vice-president.

Pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Photo / Getty Images

What happened in the Capitol riot in 2021?

Until January 6 2021, the meeting of the Electoral College was regarded as a formality, with the vice-president presiding over the meeting where the votes were counted.

Richard Nixon in 1961 and Al Gore in 2001 found themselves in the position of formally ratifying the candidate who had defeated them for the presidency the previous November.

Mike Pence, who was both Vice-President and Donald Trump’s running mate, was in the same position when a mob stormed the Capitol.

Had the mob succeeded in preventing Pence from presiding over the count, the choice of president would have fallen to the congressional delegations, with each state getting one vote.

With the Republicans having a majority of state delegations, this would have led to Trump returning to the White House.

Do all the votes count?

Yes, with certain qualifications. It is an indirect election and candidates with a minority of the popular vote have won the presidency.

On five occasions, the Electoral College system has resulted in the election of a candidate who did not receive the most popular votes in the election – in 1800, 1824, 1876, 2000, and, most famously, and recently in 2016, when the Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton claimed 2.1% more of the popular vote than Donald Trump, who, with 304 votes compared to 227, won the electoral victory, and, therefore, his place in the White House.