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    • Electoral College vs. Popular Vote: What Determines Who is President
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    Electoral College vs. Popular Vote: What Determines Who is President

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    Now that Election Day is finally here, it’s time to delve into the rules behind the Electoral College and how it determines who will be the next president.

    First established in 1787 by the Founding Fathers, the Electoral College was created as a compromise between electing a president through the popular vote or through Congress. It is intended to prevent one state with a large population from gaining control of the entire election.

    Tennessee has eleven Electoral College votes, and has had this number since the 1984 election. Three and four are the most common numbers of votes in the Electoral College, with seven states having three and seven states having four.

    What is the Electoral College?

    The Electoral College is how the President of the United States is elected. In the US, there are 538 votes up for grabs between all 50 states and the District of Columbia. To win the election, a candidate must secure 270 electoral votes, which is the majority of the council.

    According to the National Archives, each candidate running for president chooses a slate of electors for each state before the general election. If the candidate is declared the winner in the state, his or her vote can then be cast in the Electoral College.

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    How are electoral votes determined?

    Electoral votes are determined by the number of inhabitants. The Census determines how many people there are in a state, which determines how many members of Congress a state has – which is the same as the number of electoral votes a state gets.

    A state with a larger population receives more electoral votes than a state with a smaller population. California therefore has the most Electoral College votes with 54. Although Washington DC has no members of Congress, it does have three electoral votes.

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    How has Tennessee voted in the past?

    In the last 100 years, Tennessee has voted blue 10 times and red 15 times. The last time Tennessee voted for a Democratic leader was in 1992 and 1996 for former President Bill Clinton.

    What is the point of the popular vote?

    The popular vote partly determines how many electoral votes each candidate receives. It is not intended to determine who the majority of the country wants, but rather who each state wants as president.

    After each state counts the popular votes and determines a winner, the members of the Electoral College go to that candidate for each state vote. The candidate who receives more than 270 electoral votes becomes the next president.

    Most states have a winner-takes-all policy, but in Nebraska and Maine, votes are distributed based on which candidate wins each of the state’s congressional districts. In 2020, Joe Biden received one of the five votes in Nebraska, while Trump received one of the four votes in Maine.

    America decides: See Tennessee’s general election results

    Could there be a tie in the Electoral College?

    It is possible that two candidates will receive 269 votes each, but that is very unlikely. If it does happen, a complicated process follows.

    First, the newly elected members of the House of Representatives would meet to vote for the new president. Here, each state’s delegation would get one vote. For example, according to USA.gov, California’s 52 members of the House of Representatives would have one vote the same as Wyoming’s lone member.

    The Senate would then convene to vote for the new vice president, so theoretically a Harris-Vance or Trump-Walz administration could be possible.

    In the Senate, each senator would have his own vote, with a simple majority required to choose a winner.

    2024 Electoral College Map: How Many Votes Does Each State Have?

    When was the last time a state increased its Electoral College vote?

    There have been no changes to the Electoral College since the 2012 election, in which 18 states gained or lost votes.

    • Arizona went from 10 votes in 2008 to 11 votes in 2012.
    • Florida went from 27 votes in 2008 to 29 votes in 2012.
    • Georgia went from 15 votes in 2008 to 16 votes in 2012.
    • Illinois went from 21 votes in 2008 to 20 votes in 2012.
    • Iowa went from 7 votes in 2008 to 6 votes in 2012.
    • Louisiana went from 9 votes in 2008 to 8 votes in 2012.
    • Massachusetts went from 12 votes in 2008 to 11 votes in 2012.
    • Michigan went from 17 votes in 2008 to 16 votes in 2012.
    • Missouri went from 11 votes in 2008 to 10 votes in 2012.
    • Nevada went from 5 votes in 2008 to 6 votes in 2012.
    • New Jersey went from 15 votes in 2008 to 14 votes in 2012.
    • New York went from 31 votes in 2008 to 29 votes in 2012.
    • Ohio went from 20 votes in 2008 to 18 votes in 2012.
    • Pennsylvania went from 21 votes in 2008 to 20 votes in 2012.
    • South Carolina went from 8 votes in 2008 to 9 votes in 2012.
    • Texas went from 34 votes in 2008 to 38 votes in 2012.
    • Utah went from 5 votes in 2008 to 6 votes in 2012.
    • Virginia went from 11 votes in 2008 to 12 votes in 2012.

    Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana

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