I don’t understand why my vote counts since the electoral college exists!
OK, full transparency, I am 33 and still have trouble understanding the electoral college.
I have googled this to near death. I’ve read articles, looked at info graphics, watched videos, and honestly I still feel like a first grader trying to figure out how to spell C-A-T. I am not embarrassed, however, to admit this subject confuses me because I know there must be at least one other person who must feel the way I do.
So, after probing and researching I am going to try to explain why your vote matters despite the electoral college.
Quick info below about the electoral college provided by who else but our very own government, yay.
https://www.usa.gov/election the electoral college is:
In other U.S. elections, candidates are elected directly by popular vote. But the president and vice president are not elected directly by citizens. Instead, they’re chosen by “electors” through a process called the Electoral College.
The process of using electors comes from the Constitution. It was a compromise between a popular vote by citizens and a vote in Congress.
So here’s the summary, if the info above was too vague. The electoral college is technically a process. Each state gets a number of electors, decided by our Constitution and amended with current Census. Those electors then vote for their choice of president. The winning president needs 270 electoral votes to win.
(The opposite is the popular vote, our vote. It’s called the popular vote possibly because we find out exactly who everyone likes.)
Because electoral votes decide the president, nominees can be extremely popular (earn millions of popular votes) and yet still lose. But don’t be disheartened. Stick with me to the end of this post and I’ll let you know how your popular vote can still make a positive impact. But first let me dive into simplifying this electoral college.
“The general election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. When you vote for a Presidential candidate you are actually voting for your candidate’s preferred electors.”
— https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about
Let me try to make the electoral college cool.
Because so much researching has led me to finding this topic lame even though it absolutely isn’t, I’m going to nickname the electoral college. From here on forward the electoral college will be called the E-GAME and their vote worth will be called E-VOTES. OK? E-GAME and E-VOTES. Let’s move on.
Let’s win the E-GAME! (by collecting the most E-VOTES!)
So let me give you a hypothetical analogy, let’s create an imaginary country called USA (United States of Aliens) and Jane and John are running for president.
USA has 3 states total voting for president. State A, B, and C. Each state has only 10 people, aliens, living in it (I know weird). Remember each state though is worth a certain amount of E-VOTES, which was decided by their constitution. State A is worth 30, State B is worth 15, and State C is worth 55. At the end of the election whichever candidate has the most E-VOTES will win the E-GAME. So, it breaks down like so:
STATE A 30 — population 10
STATE B 15 — pop. 10
STATE C 55 — pop. 10
Okay so USA elections start and people (aliens) voted and here are the results for each state!
STATE A — 10 people voted for Jane (they hate John), 0 people voted for John. Jane wins!
STATE B — 9 people voted for Jane (omgosh Jane’s so popular!) 1 person voted for John. Jane wins!
STATE C — 0 votes for Jane (they really hate Jane here, I wonder why?), 10 votes for John. John wins!
So if you’ve been keeping track, Jane won in both State A and B and gained a total of 19 popular votes (State A’s 10 plus State B’s 9), but State A and B are only worth a total of 45 in E-VOTES. Womp, womp. Sadly, Jane loses election.
Why?
Because although only 11 people in the USA voted for John, John won State C which was worth 55 in E-VOTES against Jane’s E-VOTE total of 45. (Better luck next time Jane.) Now John gets to be president to 19 people who hate his guts. Not everything is perfect.
Alright, now if you’re like me and would like a visual of that analogy I have provided one below.
This is a numbers game people. For those who follow any type of sports like basketball and football, y’all know some shots are worth more than others. Just like some states are worth more in E-VOTES than others. To win the E-GAME we need the most E-VOTES possible. So in the real United States of America which states are worth the highest E-VOTES?
CALIFORNIA 55
TEXAS 38
NEW YORK 29
FLORIDA 29
So here’s when voters who live in other states think that their vote doesn’t matter and therefore never show up to play. WRONG. Remember it’s a numbers game people and just because the states above are worth the most, doesn’t mean a nominee can’t clinch the E-GAME with other states. Here are the next states with high E-VOTES.
PENNSYLVANIA 20
ILLINOIS 20
OHIO 18
MICHIGAN 16
So now you’re probably thinking, well Alicia I don’t live in those states either so why does my vote matter? If you haven’t figured it out yet…THIS. IS. A. NUMBERS. GAME.
If I were a nominee I would win solely on your defeated thinking. YES, I would win, because you decide not to show up on election day and vote, and your neighbor who thinks the same as you won’t vote either, and your relative from the state over, and your long-distance relationship from across the US. I will win because none of y’all show up in even the low E-VOTE states and I’ll snatch them all up along with some swing states and have enough E-VOTES to beat whoever got the popular vote. I will be the unpopular candidate no one saw coming because you thought your vote didn’t matter. IT MATTERS. YOU MATTER.
Want to help your side win the E-GAME but you’re not in a state with high E-VOTES? EASY. Follow these steps:
First, show up to vote so that your candidate ensures the win in your state and so you set the right image for your peers. People notice. Your following pays attention.
Get involved now and stay involved until November — Natalie Proulx and Katherine Schulten provide excellent ways to engage in this 2020 election.
(Remember, if a candidate gets enough mixture of small and big states they can still win.)
Second, ask those you know from different states, especially from swing states, and all states to show up and vote. Remember that every vote counts.
Third, do not, I repeat, do not count your chickens before they have hatched. That means don’t think you’ve won the E-GAME until the whistle blows and the game has ended.
Here’s your last analogy, for those who enjoy sports, think back to a favorite close-call game, soccer, basketball, volleyball, what have you. Did you sit back and think my team is so far ahead, they got this, I can breathe, just to tear your hair out when the other team revs up and in those last seconds wins the game by a margin???! Don’t let this happen to your candidate.
Start now. Spread the word. Reach your following, who happen to live all over the US. Stay informed. Persuade their vote with facts. Volunteer. Make it fun! Create a round table ZOOM game. Hold discussions with your peers, your pen pals, your long-distance friends. Maybe you don’t live in a high E-VOTE state, or a swing state, but you most likely know someone that does.
Support your candidate near and far. We live in a technological world where your creative goofy TikTok videos can sway voters. Promote your candidate through blogs, emails, newsletters, apparel, text messages, toilet paper (get creative) until the end of the election, until that whistle blows!
