Yeah, I know how to put in the ballot and mail it but what happens after that? Why do sometimes the candidates get more votes from the people and still lose? What is the electoral college and what does it do?
Can Someone Explain to Me the Voting Process?
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@BearMan
What is the electoral college and what does it do?
Each state has an assigned number of delegates based on their population.
Long before telephones were invented, these delegates would travel to the capital and vote (in person) for the candidate who won the most votes in their state.
It's a "winner take all" system.
So even if a very large state has a population who votes 51%/49% all the delegates for that state are assigned to vote for the candidate with the 1% advantage (thus nullifying the will of the 49%).
The result is that if a candidate wins big states by small margins and loses small states by big margins, they can still end up winning the most delegates while technically getting fewer total votes nation-wide (lose the popular vote).
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@3RU7AL
Thanks
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@3RU7AL
It's a "winner take all" system.
In most states. Maine and Nebraska give 2 electoral votes to the candidate who got the most votes and divide the rest of their votes based on who got the most votes in each district. That's the exception, though.
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@SirAnonymous
Right, but that's totally optional.
The delegates could vote for anyone, even someone who wasn't even on the ballot.
I was trying to simplify the framework somewhat, in order to focus on "how could a winner lose the popular vote".
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@BearMan
Also, the "reason" this system was designed this way was because the founding fathers thought that a pure democracy might lead to the election of a very charismatic and popular, but ultimately unqualified and or dictatorial person.
If the states think the elected candidate (with the most votes) is heinously unqualified or otherwise dangerous, they have 100% discretion to assign their delegates to ANY person they choose.
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@3RU7AL
I was trying to simplify the framework somewhat, in order to focus on "how could a winner lose the popular vote".
Yes, and you did a good job.
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@3RU7AL
The result is that if a candidate wins big states by small margins and loses small states by big margins,
Winning any state with large margins increases the chances you can lose while getting the popular vote. EC penalizes too much campaigning in any one state.
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@Greyparrot
I’m going Election Day. I don’t trust the mail
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@BearMan
This is the official website directing on on the 'hows' and 'whats' of the election day. It is the 100% official source, it cannot be wrong.
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@BearMan
Trump staffers discuss changing rules regarding delegates,
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@ILikePie5
You can vote in-person if your district has early voting (most of them do).
I've already gone to vote in-person three times.
The first two times I went, the lines were so long, I didn't want to wait.
I can imagine that if you wait until "election day" you're probably going to be standing in line for several hours.
I'd recommend checking your county website for early voting locations, you can probably vote through the end of this week (even Saturday).
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@3RU7AL
You can vote in-person if your district has early voting (most of them do).I've already gone to vote in-person three times.The first two times I went, the lines were so long, I didn't want to wait.I can imagine that if you wait until "election day" you're probably going to be standing in line for several hours.I'd recommend checking your county website for early voting locations, you can probably vote through the end of this week (even Saturday).
Lines don’t matter to me. I’d crawl through broken class to cast my vote for Donald Trump.
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@BearMan
They take all the ballots and recycle them in to toilet paper and paper towels. No votes ever get counted.