As the Nov. 3 presidential election rapidly approaches, we’ve seen the presidential candidates, other political figures, celebrities, influencers, and pretty much everyone on Instagram encouraging us to vote. Yet many people still choose not to vote since they feel their votes do not matter.
Many cite the existence of the Electoral College as the key reason their vote seems futile. With the Electoral College in place, it is possible that the candidate who does not win the popular vote still enters office, as we saw in the 2016 election. For this reason, many people feel the Electoral College should be abolished. Unfortunately, the Electoral College is still in place, so the 2020 election is still in the hands of electors.
But rest assured: Your vote does matter. To understand how, I’ll quickly elaborate on what the heck the Electoral College does.
When we go to polls or mail in our ballots, Americans are actually voting for a group of officials called electors. Generally, electors are “party loyalists” who will support the candidate who gets the most popular votes. These electors then represent the entire state and decide which candidate receives the state’s electoral votes. Each elector represents one vote in the Electoral College.
In a majority of states, electors have to cast their votes for whichever candidate won the popular vote in their state. Those who go against the majority vote are termed “faithless.” Regardless, seven electors went against their state’s popular vote in 2016, and they did not end up deciding the election.
The number of electors each state gets is based on the state’s population, so California has 55 electors while Alaska has only three. In total, there are 538 electors. This means a candidate has to receive 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
For all but two states (Nebraska and Maine), the Electoral College follows a winner-takes-all approach: If a candidate just edges out their opponents in a state’s popular vote, they receive all the electoral votes in that state. This is why candidates tend to pander to “swing states,” because if they can get just that extra 0.1% of the votes, it can help them win far more electoral votes.
Winning over an elector can decide the election, seriously. This is why your vote matters. In 2016, Trump won three states (Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) by less than a single percentage point — that comes out to less than 80,000 votes across those three states. Because of those 80,000 votes, he received 46 more electoral votes, giving him the presidency. This tiny gap is the modern record-holder for the presidential election. This should go to show you that just a few votes can push the election toward your favored candidate.
I get it, the Electoral College is a joke and makes no sense, but I promise your vote counts. It could be just a few votes that swing your state electors to your party’s side. Don’t you want your vote to decide that? If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that a few 10,000 votes can change the entire future of our nation. I hope you’ll choose to change it.
You can register to vote for this election here.
As always, stay safe, vote, and eat the rich.