Introduction: Why am I writing this?
This year’s election has not been short of the usual political plot twists and surprises, and the ever-lapping tides of politicians, polls, and pride. What is unique about this year though, is the current state of the country, with a pandemic raging, marches for the end of systematic racism, and the (rough) beginnings of the new decade. As young people, it is important for us to formulate our own opinions about the world; a world of wildfire spreading media, real wildfires fueled by our neglect of the earth, and access to the world at our fingertips each time we open a computer. We must decide our political opinion based on the facts and our beliefs, not based on our parent’s or the news’ views. That is why I am writing this article, despite not having ever written a political piece before and being quite ignorant of political jargon, in an attempt to provide an unbiased and understandable recap of this year’s election.
Electoral College: How exactly does the voting work?
As it is probably known, Joe Biden is the current president-elect because he is predicted to earn the most electoral votes. There are 538 total electoral votes, and each state gets an amount proportional to their population (California, for example, has 55, while Alaska has only 3). To win, the candidate must receive at least 270 electoral votes. As of November 24th, Joe Biden is projected to receive 306 electoral votes. President Trump is projected to receive 232, so Biden has likely secured his position as the next president. The official confirmation will occur once the electors officially vote on December 14th.
The electors, which are appointed on November 3rd, make up the electoral college, and they are who actually vote for the next president. The popular vote (each American’s ballot vote) in each state determines which electors will be sent to vote on behalf of that state. This is why the popular vote result may not always reflect the actual result (based on electors’ votes). Many states are notorious for always supporting a certain party, so the opposing candidate usually does not do as much campaigning there as they would in a state that changes its political position from year to year. These are called “swing states.”
The Candidates and Congress: Who are we voting for?
Joe Biden was the Democratic candidate this year and served as vice president to Barack Obama for eight years. He is 78 years old, older than any other president in their first term. His vice president, Kamala Harris, will be the first female, and woman of color, to be the vice president. They are expected to move into the White House after being inaugurated on January 20th. During his upcoming presidency, he hopes to increase mask-wearing and social-distancing, in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. President Donald Trump was the Republican candidate this year, alongside Vice President Mike Pence.
In addition to voting for the president, voters also got a chance to select Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. Together, they make up the US Congress (the legislative branch of government) that formulates laws before passing them on to the president. This year, all 435 House seats were up for election, and 33 Senate seats were available. Senators each serve a six-year term, (approximately one-third are reelected every election) and each state has two, to make a total of 100 senators. The House is made up of 435 representatives, and they are reelected every two years. The amount of representatives a state gets in the House is determined by their population. As of now, 222 Democratic representatives and 207 Republican representatives have been elected.
In the Senate, Republicans hold the majority with 50 of the 100 seats, and Democrats currently hold 48 seats. Although, the remaining 2 available seats are to be elected by Georgia in January 2021, because neither candidate received the 50% required popular vote. What happens in Georgia is crucial because they could make the house 50-50, Republican to Democrat, which would mean both the legislative and executive branches of government would be controlled by the Democratic Party.
The Wait: Why does counting the votes take so long?
Although the votes usually take a few days (or weeks) to definitively count, the result can sometimes be predicted on election night or early the next day. The early predictions may be skewed based on which states report their votes first, and the real result cannot be determined until all the states are finished counting the ballots from the polling stations, the mail-in ballots, the provisional ballots and military ballots.
This year, the coronavirus pandemic significantly lengthened the amount of time needed to count the votes and make the most accurate predictions, because of the influx of mail-in ballots, meaning voters send their vote in the mail instead of going to a polling station. States usually finish counting and certify their results by December 8th, but the electoral college votes will not be finalized until January 6th.
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