It is almost a certainty that every voting-age American is thinking about the upcoming Presidential election. Even the politically un-savvy and the politically apathetic alike, has some varying degree of concern over who will be the next POTUS. As well they should. This country, as is no different from others, is far from perfect. There are programs and policies in place now that work and some that have failed. Though each one, good or bad, may not apply to you and yours personally, casting your vote for one candidate or the other, is the surest way to see that as many as possible, is addressed.
So, you stand in line, choose a booth, and cast your vote. Easy peasy, right? You do vote, don’t you? But, how does your vote cast in your little corner of America elect the next leader of the free world? Well, get ready to revisit high school civics! When Americans vote for a President and Vice President, they are actually voting for presidential electors, known collectively as the Electoral College. It is these electors, chosen by the people, who elect the chief executive. The Constitution assigns each state a number of electors equal to the combined total of the state’s Senate and House of Representatives delegations; at present, the number of electors per state ranges from three to 54, for a total of 538.
In each presidential election year, a group of candidates for elector is nominated by political parties and other groupings in each state, usually at a state party convention, or by the party state committee. It is these elector-candidates, rather than the presidential and vice presidential nominees, for whom the people vote in the November election, which is held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In most states, voters cast a single vote for the slate of electors pledged to the party presidential and vice presidential candidates of their choice. The slate winning the most popular votes is elected; this is known as the winner-take-all, or general ticket, system. Electors assemble in their respective states on Monday after the second Wednesday in December. They are pledged and expected, but not required, to vote for the candidates they represent.
Just as there’s no guarantee that the President will follow through on campaign promises, there’s no guarantee that the elector will follow the party parameters under which they were elected. That’s the nature of the beast. Many other nations and political pundits have chimed in on the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the US’s democratic process. Much of it has not changed in over 200 years. Regardless of opinions on effectiveness, it is what is in place to place the next leader of our country. Whomever you choose for whatever reason, take your rightful, constitutionally protected right in the democratic process and vote!
