Elections and the Electoral College Answers

In a direct election, a citizen has the ability to choose between candidates or between options at the polls. Propositions, bond measures, and most other elections in the United States are considered direct elections. Presidential elections work differently. Rather than directly choosing a president, citizens are actually choosing electors. The electors, in turn, will vote for a presidential candidate. As a result, presidential elections can be considered indirect, since citizens are electing representatives who will speak for them.

In a primary elections, political parties choose their nominees for candidacy. Parties may have several members who are interested in running for election, and they use primaries to focus their efforts. Once a candidate has won a primary, he or she moves on to a general election. In this type of election, candidates from different parties face each other. A general election winner takes office.

The majority of America’s population is concentrated in certain states and cities. Other states have smaller populations and communities. The electoral system used in presidential elections is designed to provide a level of input for every state, including the smaller states. While a popular vote system would ensure that a candidate would win by receiving the most votes, this could be a disadvantage to smaller states. By winning a large victory in the states with the biggest populations (states like California, Texas, and Florida), a candidate could win even if he or she lost in each smaller state.

This map shows the number of electoral votes assigned to each state between 2000 and 2010. Each state sends a number of electors that matches its representation in the Senate and House of Representatives. In the Electoral College system, a presidential candidate must receive at least 270 of these electoral votes to win the election, and each state won adds to that total.

The 2000 presidential election was decided by an extremely close margin in the state of Florida. A presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes to win a clear majority and the presidency, and Florida’s electoral votes made the difference for George W. Bush. The map and charts indicate that candidate Al Gore received over 500,000 more votes than Bush, and in the process he won 20 states (and the District of Columbia). Though George Bush received less votes overall, he won 30 states and a higher number of electoral votes. Because the Electoral College does not determine a winner based on popular vote, Bush won this election.