Last week over a hundred million Americans went to the polls to vote in
the U.S. Presidential Elections. But, as happens every four years, the
focus was not on who won the most votes, but who won the most
“electoral votes.” This is because the U.S. Constitution prescribes
that presidents are not elected directly by the people but instead by a
group of designated citizens known as electors (who make up the “Electoral College”).
Electoral votes are divvied up between the states based on the number
of the state’s congressional delegation, plus three for the District of
Columbia. This means there are 538 electors. By winning the popular
vote of a state, a candidate wins all of that state’s electoral votes.
A simple majority of 270 votes is needed to win the presidential
election.
The system can seem a bit confusing to most people, but it is a system that reflects the Federal nature of our government. In only 4 of the 52 presidential elections did we see the electoral vote winner not also capture the nationwide popular vote. Historians say the Electoral College reflects the 18th-century American mindset, when direct elections were an unusual idea and America’s founders favored a system where elections were decided by individual states. After the election in 2000, there were many conversations about possibly changing the Constitution to elect the President in a popular vote, but thus far, tradition – and the interests of the winning party – has won out.
Thus, in presidential elections, we focus our attention on “swing states” (where the popular vote between candidates is close) and the “electoral mathematics” (combinations of states) that will secure for a candidate the magic number of 270 electoral votes. President Obama managed to win all the “swing states” and many more electoral votes – 332 to Governor Romney’s 206 – and also captured about 51% of the popular vote as well.
As it is for most Americans, it was exciting for me to cast my ballot and participate in Election Day. Over the years, this has meant that for many elections, I have voted by mail with an absentee ballot since I was living outside the United States. But regardless of how we pick our president, or how we vote, the critical thing is that we decide to become active participants in the democratic process. I firmly believe that the foundation of democracy is citizen engagement, on Election Day and every day.
With the election process over in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the United States, it is time for our all of us to turn our attention to the future and the work that must be done to move our societies forward. We must never forget that that leaders were elected to work in the interest of the citizens, and that the citizens must hold them responsible. That is our civic duty.
The system can seem a bit confusing to most people, but it is a system that reflects the Federal nature of our government. In only 4 of the 52 presidential elections did we see the electoral vote winner not also capture the nationwide popular vote. Historians say the Electoral College reflects the 18th-century American mindset, when direct elections were an unusual idea and America’s founders favored a system where elections were decided by individual states. After the election in 2000, there were many conversations about possibly changing the Constitution to elect the President in a popular vote, but thus far, tradition – and the interests of the winning party – has won out.
Thus, in presidential elections, we focus our attention on “swing states” (where the popular vote between candidates is close) and the “electoral mathematics” (combinations of states) that will secure for a candidate the magic number of 270 electoral votes. President Obama managed to win all the “swing states” and many more electoral votes – 332 to Governor Romney’s 206 – and also captured about 51% of the popular vote as well.
As it is for most Americans, it was exciting for me to cast my ballot and participate in Election Day. Over the years, this has meant that for many elections, I have voted by mail with an absentee ballot since I was living outside the United States. But regardless of how we pick our president, or how we vote, the critical thing is that we decide to become active participants in the democratic process. I firmly believe that the foundation of democracy is citizen engagement, on Election Day and every day.
With the election process over in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the United States, it is time for our all of us to turn our attention to the future and the work that must be done to move our societies forward. We must never forget that that leaders were elected to work in the interest of the citizens, and that the citizens must hold them responsible. That is our civic duty.
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