US Presidential Race: The Importance of Your Vote

In the United States, a new presidential race happens every four years. In this election, people are encouraged to go out and vote for the presidential candidate that they think is best. However, many people don’t always realize how their vote is used.

The Primaries

In the primaries, a group of individuals will attempt to gain the votes of their political party. As time progresses, some of the candidates will drop out as the more popular ones rise to the top. Eventually, it’s weaned down to just one candidate for each political party. Usually this consists of the Democrats, the Republicans, and the often unheard of Libertarian Party. Thus begins the main election.

The Main Election

The main election consists of the nominees who were picked in the primaries. An example would be Al Gore (Democratic) and George Walker Bush (Republican) in 2000. The selected candidates will then campaign across various states and try to gain the lead over one another. And on November 4th, one will be selected as president.

How the Final Tally Works

Again, the final tally of the election will be done on November 4th. This is when the voting is done. However, this is also the part where people seem to misunderstand some things. First of all, there are two different types of voting systems for the US political elections. The first one is called the popular vote, and the second one is known as the electoral college.

The Popular Vote

The popular vote is basically the sum of everyone who voted in the US elections. You would think that the candidate who wins the popular vote would win the US election; however, this is not the case. In actuality, the popular vote is trivial.

The Electoral College

This is the one that matters. You see, most people don’t realize that when they vote for a presidential candidate, they are actually voting for pledged electors who will then vote for their political party via the electoral college. You would think that these electors would do what the people want and vote for their chosen candidate. And most of the time, these pledged electors do just that. However, they don’t have to do what the people want.

Many of these electors can just as easily change their minds, and vote however they wish. That’s why they’re called “pledged” electors. Though, in some states, these electors can be fined or worse if they fail to go along with the popular vote. Again, the 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George Walker Bush is a perfect example of electors voting against the US populace. Al Gore narrowly won the popular vote, but George Walker Bush won the electoral college. Guess who became the president?

Why?

Apparently, the founding fathers of the US did not want to have presidents elected solely by the people (a.k.a. mob rule). They felt that the people, at that point in history, were too easily swayed by words or emotions. So they decided to have individuals in the political parties appoint pledged electors who the people could then vote for. These electors are supposedly more informed and less easily swayed by words or emotions then the people are; thus, when they vote in the actual presidential election, it is considered to be fair and balanced (in theory). But nothing is perfect.

Electoral Votes

Currently, a candidate who wins the majority of a states’ electoral votes will win that entire state. Many people view this as unfair and want to change it. In fact, Main and Nebraska have already altered the way the electoral college works in their states. For example, Nebraska has five electoral votes up for grabs. In the past, the presidential candidate who won three or more of those electoral votes would gain all five of them. However, now they would only receive those three electoral votes. The other two electoral votes would go to the other presidential candidate.

So the next time you are going to cast your ballot for the presidential race, remember that you’re not exactly casting your vote for the president directly. Instead, you’re empowering a selected elector who will do that for you. Just keep in mind that your elector can always change his or her mind, and vote for the other guy. Or perhaps, one day a girl.