Popular Vote/Electoral College Importance

Every four years American citizens 18 years and older are eligible to cast their vote for the president of the United States. Seems simple – but many voters do not realize they are not directly voting for the president. Why? Because we use a system called the Electoral College to elect the president and vice president. Let us be clear to point out that the Electoral College is not a place. This is a system which was created by delegates in 1787 as a compromise between electing the president by a vote in Congress, or electing through a popular vote by qualified citizens. The Founders set up the Electoral College for the following reasons: 1) To balance the interests of high-population and low-population states; 2) To put a buffer between the people and electing the president, a chosen group of people would be able to object to the people’s vote; 3) They believed that not all voters were informed enough to choose a leader. The Electoral College is a system where citizens indirectly elect the president and vice president through a body of 538 electors. Electors are people chosen by their state parties prior to the general election who cast their vote for president. On Election Day, voters cast their vote for president and the winner of the popular vote in each state is awarded their party’s slate of electors. Electors almost always cast their vote for the candidate who wins the popular vote in their state, which explains why we have election results available on Election Day. However, the Constitution does not require them to do so. There have been a few instances where electors defected from their pledged vote, but it has not changed the outcome of an election. The number of electors for each state is equal to the number of U. S. Senators and Representatives in the state’s delegation. To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a minimum of 270 electoral votes. The state of Louisiana has 2 Senators and 6 Representatives which gives the state 8 Electoral votes. If no candidate receives 270 Electoral college votes, the president is then selected by the House of Representatives. Each member of the House (435 total) will cast their vote for president of the United States until one receives a majority (218). We, the People make up the Popular vote which indicates which candidate receives the most total votes. This why voting is very important.VOTE like your life depends on it because it does!!!