Does My Vote Really Count?

Answer: Yes.

(This post is inspired by a comment made to yesterday's post "Does It Really Matter Who The Next President Is?")

        Many people are confused about concepts such as "electoral college" and "popular vote." What is the difference between the two and does the electoral college count more than the popular vote? Does one affect the other or are they counted separately? Let's tackle these one at a time. And the ultimate question is, "Does my vote count?"

What is the difference between the "electoral college" and the "popular vote"?

The electoral college is the gathering of all the electoral delegates in their state capitals (and the District of Columbia in the case of the D.C. delegates) on the same day, to cast their votes to elect the next president.

Wait Jason! Does this mean the electoral college is what elects the president?

Yes.

But how does my vote count?

Stay with me.

Does one affect the other or are they counted separately?

The popular vote affects the electoral vote AND they are counted separately. The electoral college votes in December, a month after you vote in November. The delegates from your state are the ones who happen to be pledged to the candidate who won the popular vote in your state. In this way, the popular vote affects the electoral college vote.

What is the popular vote?

You are the popular vote. You cast your vote in November. Let us pretend you are a Georgia voter and you vote for Barack Obama. But much to your disappointment, Mitt Romney wins the popular vote in Georgia. That means all of Georgia's electoral college votes go to Mitt Romney. Why? Because our system is "winner take all."

Assuming Romney wins Georgia, that state's slate of electors will be the ones who are pledged to Romney. They will cast their votes on the designated day in December.

These days, our balloting and communications technology is advanced enough to know the electoral college outcome as soon as we know the outcome of the popular vote in each state. The electoral vote cast in December is mainly a ratification of what we already know within a few days of the election in November. 

It gets thornier in those (rare) cases when the balloting is in doubt in certain states (Bush vs. Gore in 2000). When that happens, a confused logjam ensues and interested entities add to the confusion by throwing their weight in when they ought not to (Florida's supreme court changing that state's electoral rules in the middle of a re-count, in the 2000 example.)

Each state is allotted a certain number of electoral votes based on that state's total number of U.S. congressional representatives (that number is based on the population size of that state) and U.S. senators. 

Why do large-population states get more house reps and therefore more electoral votes? Because the framers of our system did not want small states to have a disproportionately large influence in the makeup of federal officials and the outcome of national elections. The small states are compensated because all states are allowed the same number of representatives (two) in the U.S. Senate. 

Does the electoral college count more than the popular vote?

Many people think it does because the electoral college is the final arbiter in the process, but in reality, one balances out the other. The large states have a potential to dominate the process because their large populations have the potential to carry more weight in the popular vote. However, the danger of large-state domination is balanced off because part of the allotment of electoral delegates is based on the number of U.S. Senators a state has, and every state has exactly two.

In these ways, your vote counts! Your vote is the kindle that fires the rest of the blaze, or the grease that turns the machine, however you may imagine it.


Jason A.