Most states appoint their electors on a winner-take-all basis, based on the statewide popular vote on Election Day. Maine and Nebraska are the only two current exceptions. Maine and Nebraska distribute their electoral votes proportionally, with two at-large electors representing the statewide winning presidential and vice-presidential candidates and one elector each representing the winners from each of their Congressional districts.
Maine and Nebraska allow for the splitting of their electoral votes. I think they both award one elector to the winner in each Congressional district and give the other two votes to the over-all state-wide winner.
The electoral college represents a states population.
In a Presidential election nowadays, winning the popular vote in a state is the first step in getting "Electoral College" (E.C.) votes.State legislatures now use two ways of converting their popular vote into E.C. votes. All but two use the winner-take-all or "unit rule" that says the winner of the largest number of popular votes gets all the state E.C. votes.Each state has the E.C. votes of its US Representatives plus its two US Senators. The winner of the popular vote in the "unit rule" cases gets all that state's votes. That's the answer for 49 out of 51 places voting in the Electoral College.Maine and Nebraska use a "District Plan". They count the popular vote in each Congressional District and then award the winner in each of those one E.C. vote. Then a two-E.C. vote bonus goes to the winner of the state-wide vote. For instance in Nebraska, Mr. McCain won two districts, Mr. Obama won one district, and Mr. McCain won the state-wide vote. Nebraska's E.C. vote was split: McCain 4, Obama 1.The total E.C. votes amount to 538, equal to the 435 in the House of Representatives, plus the 100 in the US Senate, plus 3 for a total Electoral College count for the District of Columbia. To be elected President of the US in the Electoral College, it takes a majority of 270 E.C. votes.
The House votes by state to decide the winnerUS Presidential ElectionIf no candidate receives a majority of the Electoral College votes in a US Presidential election, the states' delegations to the House of Representatives select the president. Each state's delegation receives one vote. The House must select from the top three Electoral College vote getters (i.e. the three candidates with the highest Electoral College vote totals), and the winner must receive the majority of votes.A minimum 2/3rds quorum is required (i.e. 2/3rds of all the states' delegations must be present), and the winner must get a simple majority of that quorum. Only state delegations can vote in such a tie-breaker (e.g. the District of Columbia's Electoral representatives are excluded, and D.C. does not get a vote). Voting rounds continue until there is a winner.Vice presidential electionIf no candidate for the Vice President receives a majority of the Electoral Vote, the Senate will then choose the winner. Each senator has a single vote, and they can chose from the top TWO Electoral College vote-getters. A simple majority (51 of 100) is required to win in the Senate. Only Senators may vote (e.g. the current Vice President does not get to break ties) in this special case. As with the House, voting rounds continue until there is a winner.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is the most promising, as it bypasses the difficult process of amending the constitution, without being unconstitutional. The Constitution says that States decide how their electors are chosen. Nearly all States (and the District of Columbia, which has 3 electors) use the "Winner Takes All System", which allowed George W. Bush to win the election in 2000 despite the fact Al Gore got more votes. There are two exceptions. Maine (4 electors) and Nebraska (5 electors) can split their vote if the less popular candidate gets a majority in a congressional district. The only time this happened was in 2008, when John McCain won the state of Nebraska, but Barack Obama carried the majority of votes in the 2nd district. The vote was split 4-1. Currently a candidate needs to carry enough states to win 270 electoral votes in order to win. If at least 270 electoral votes were from states who had agreed to the NPVIC, the winner of the nationwide popular vote would always win. Basically, each state that signs up to the NPVIC would agree to send electors to vote for the candidate which receives the largest number of votes in the country, and not in the state itself. This does not come into force until enough states have agreed and 270 electoral votes belong to NPVIC states. To agree to the NPVIC, states have to pass legislation. Currently, six states have done this: Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and Hawaii. The District of Columbia, which is not a state, has also done this. This means 74 out of the 270 necessary votes are held by NPVIC states. Our most recent news is that the Bill has passed the Vermont Senate, and it is very likely it will pass the Assembly and be enacted. The previous Governor vetoed the proposal, but the new Governor supports it.
Nebraska and Maine do not simply award all their votes to the state-wide winner. They award one vote to the winner in each separate congressional district and two votes to the state-wide winner.
All states but Nebraska and Maine use the winner-take-all system to award all their electoral votes to the winner. However, some of the strongly Democratic states, mindful of 2000, add the requirement that all of their votes go to the leader in electoral votes. Nebraska and Maine give two votes to the state-wide leader and award the others to the leader in each Congressional district.
Two states, Maine and Nebraska, use a tiered system where a single elector is chosen within each Congressional district and two electors are chosen by statewide popular vote.
Maine and Nebraska use a unique system for allocating their electoral votes, differing from the winner-takes-all approach used by most states. Both states employ a proportional method, where electoral votes are distributed based on the results of the popular vote within their congressional districts, as well as statewide. This allows for the possibility of splitting electoral votes between candidates, which can influence overall election outcomes more significantly than in states that allocate all votes to the statewide winner.
Those two States are not Winner Take All Statesand their Electoral Votes may be split between voting districts as was the case for Nebraska in the 2008 Presidential Election.
True.
"winner-take-all" refers to the prevailing custom that states use to allocate electoral votes. The electors run as a slate and the presidential candidate with the most popular votes gets all of his electors elected and so gets all of the states electoral votes even if he won by only a narrow margin.
The U.S. Electoral College system is a system of indirect election. In accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution, electoral votes determine the President and Vice President of the United States. The electors are elected by direct popular vote in each state and each candidate for elector swears in advance whom he will vote for. The electors from each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia then cast their electoral votes to elect the President and Vice President of the United States.
Read the US Constitution - it's all there.
Most states in the United States use a winner-takes-all system, where the candidate receiving the most votes in the state gets all of its electoral votes. However, Maine and Nebraska employ a proportional allocation method, where electoral votes can be split based on the percentage of votes each candidate receives. This system can lead to varied outcomes, reflecting the political preferences of the state's electorate. Ultimately, the method of dividing electors can significantly influence campaign strategies and the overall electoral landscape.
As of now, 48 U.S. states and the District of Columbia use a winner-takes-all system for allocating their electoral votes in presidential elections. The exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which utilize a proportional allocation method. In the winner-takes-all system, the candidate receiving the most votes in a state secures all of that state's electoral votes.
Maine and Nebraska allow for the splitting of their electoral votes. I think they both award one elector to the winner in each Congressional district and give the other two votes to the over-all state-wide winner.