Part Two: The Electoral College

The Other Map That Distorts Our Democracy

🎯 What If the Presidency Wasn’t Decided by the People?

It’s a hard truth to swallow—but in two of the last six presidential elections, the person who won the most votes did not become president.

That’s not a fluke. It’s the Electoral College, a system that gives unequal weight to voters depending on where they live.

Gerrymandering rigs your district, the Electoral College rigs your state.

Both are part of a bigger story: how political power stays concentrated—no matter what most voters want.

🧠 How the Electoral College Works

• Each state gets electors equal to its total number of senators (2) + representatives (based on population).

• There are 538 electors. You need 270 to win.

• Most states use a winner-take-all system: if you win the most votes in that state—even by 0.1%—you get all the electors.

• For example, that means your vote “counts” more in Wyoming than in California.

📌 Example: In 2020, one Wyoming elector represented about 193,000 people.

📌 California, each elector represented about 719,000 people.

🔄 The Result? Distortion

• Presidents can win without the popular vote
  (George W. Bush in 2000, Donald Trump in 2016)

• Swing states decide the outcome, while “safe” states are ignored by campaigns.

• Voter turnout suffers when people feel their vote won’t matter.

And the pressure to win swing states encourages narrow messaging—aimed at white suburban voters in places like Pennsylvania or Arizona—not the full electorate.

Wait—Am I Voting for the President or…?

Not exactly.

When you vote for president, you’re actually voting for a group of people called electors—members of the Electoral College who are pledged to your candidate.

Here’s how it works:

🗳️ 1. Each Party Picks Electors

Before the election, every party selects its own slate of electors in each state—usually loyal party members or officials.

📬 2. You Vote for the Slate

When you check the box for Biden, Trump, or another candidate, you’re voting for their party’s electors.

In most states, the winner takes all—so only one party’s slate is chosen.

🎓 3. The Electoral College Votes

In December, the electors from each state meet and cast their official votes for president. This vote, not the popular vote, legally determines the winner.

So yes, your vote matters. But it takes a detour through the Electoral College first.

🔄 Why It Feels Indirect

• The names on your ballot aren’t the people who actually cast the final votes.

• That’s why candidates can win the most popular votes nationwide—but still lose the presidency, as we saw in 2000 and 2016.

✅ In Short

You’re not voting directly for the president. You’re voting for electors—people who will cast their votes later, in the Electoral College.

And those votes are what actually decide who becomes president.

That’s the system. And that’s why understanding it—and changing it—matters.

❌ Why Can’t We Just Abolish It?

Because it’s baked into the Constitution.

• Abolishing it requires a constitutional amendment.

• That needs a two-thirds vote in Congress and approval by three-fourths of states.

• Smaller states that benefit from the current system are unlikely to agree.

But there’s a workaround already underway.

✅ What Can Be Done: The National Popular Vote Compact

Instead of abolishing the Electoral College, we can bypass it.

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a legal agreement between states:

• States pledge to give their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

• But the compact only takes effect once enough states join to reach 270 electoral votes.

• So far, 17 states + D.C. have joined—together holding 205 votes.

Check who’s in and who’s next

Once enough states join, we’ll effectively have a popular vote for president—without changing the Constitution.

🛠️ What You Can Do

1. Find out if your state is in the compact. Map of participating states

2. Contact your state legislators and ask them to support joining the compact. Especially important in purple or midsize states.

3. Support the movement. Organizations like National Popular Vote and FairVote are leading the charge.

4. Talk about it.

Many Americans still believe their vote for president counts equally.

Book Available - It contains answers to 175 myths about National Popular Vote.

The book Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote can be read or downloaded for free at https://www.every-vote-equal.com

🔁 Missed Part One?

This is part of a two-post series on how elections are distorted before and after you vote.

📎 *Part One: How Power Draws the Map — Gerrymandering and the Fight for Fair Representation