Technically, when you vote in a Presidential election, you are actually voting to choose the electors from your state (or D.C.). Each state gets a number of electors equal to the number of Representatives in the House plus the two Senators, so the smallest states get 3 electors each, while California gets 55 electors. In most states, whoever wins the popular vote in that state gets all of the state's electors; Maine and Nebraska award 2 electors to the winner of the statewide popular vote, plus 1 elector for the winner of the popular vote within each Congressional district. As a special case, the District of Columbia gets 3 electors, even though it has neither a Representative nor Senators.
The electors then cast their votes for the President and Vice President.
The winner of the Presidential election is the candidate who gets more than half of the electoral votes. There are 538 electors, in total, so it takes 270 to win.
At the time the Constitution was written, the Electoral College system was a compromise to assure smaller states that the large states would not overwhelm them in the popular vote. It was also intended to allow for the selection of electors who were better informed on national politics than most voters.
Yes , when it comes to tallying up the popular vote and electing the electors who actually elect the president. But, due to way that electors are assigned based on state boundaries, the popular vote may not coincide with the electoral vote.
Some of the popular votes lead to more electoral votes than do others, so in this sense not all votes count equally.
Providing they have not lost their voting rights through a criminal conviction, all legal citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote in a Presidential election. However, rules and laws regarding elections vary from state to state. To learn more, check with your local Elections Office.
counting the electoral votes that were cast in the presidential election
Donald Trump won Iowa's 6 electoral votes in the 2016 election. The popular vote count was Donald Trump 800,983 and Hillary Clinton 653,669.
The 2000 presidential election finally ended with the exact vote count in the state of Florida. The final margin of victory was extremely close, with George W. Bush winning the state by just 537 votes. This slim margin ultimately decided the outcome of the entire election.
The controversial presidential victory of George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election was largely attributed to the state of Florida. There were issues with the voting count in Florida, particularly with the infamous "hanging chads" on punch-card ballots and allegations of voter suppression. The election results in Florida were extremely close, ultimately leading to a legal battle and the decision of the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore to end the recount, giving Bush the victory in Florida and thus the presidency.
Donald Trump won Alabama's 9 electoral votes in the 2016 election. The popular vote count was Donald Trump 1,318,255 and Hillary Clinton 729,547.
Lyndon Johnson won the 1964 presidential election defeating Barry Goldwater. In the 1964 presidential election the popular vote totals were Johnson 43,129,566 and Goldwater 27,178,188. The largest percentage of popular votes in a presidential election were won by Lyndon Johnson 61.05% in 1964, Franklin Roosevelt 60.80% in 1936, Richard Nixon 60.67% in 1972, and Warren Harding 60.32% in 1920.
Republican Party candidate Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election defeating Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton. In the 2016 presidential election Donald Trump received 304 electoral votes and Hillary Clinton received 227 electoral votes.
Somebody's messing with you. According to United States Code, Title 3, Chapter 1, Section 15, the votes are counted by Congress on the 6th of January following the election.
Puerto Rico has no votes in the Electoral College, so citizens who are permanent residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote for President. However, the political parties permit them to participate in the candidate selection process.
Franklin D. Roosevelt won the 1932 presidential election defeating incumbent President Herbert Hoover. In the 1932 presidential election Franklin Roosevelt received 472 electoral votes (89%) and Herbert Hoover received 59 electoral votes (11%). The popular vote totals were Roosevelt 22,829,501 and Hoover 15,760,684. Socialist Party candidate Norman Thomas received 884,781 popular votes for President, but no electoral votes.
Yes, every electoral college vote is important. Republic Party candidate Rutherford Hayes won the 1876 presidential election defeating Democratic Party candidate Samuel Tilden. In the 1876 presidential election Rutherford Hayes received 185 electoral votes and Samuel Tilden received 184 electoral votes.
You mean the US presidential election on Nov 4? If we could tell that, we'd probably rather punt for the lottery numbers! However, if you mean who is winning in the polls as we count down to the election on Nov 4, then go here: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/general_election_mccain_vs_obama-225.html