What’s the Difference Between the Electoral College and Popular Vote?

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The United States (U.S.) is one of the democratic countries that choose their leaders through a general election. However, the U.S. presidential election has a bit of a catch.

Instead of a direct national vote, Al Jazeera explains, U.S. presidents are chosen through a system called the Electoral College. The votes of the electors determine the winner of the White House.

In addition to electoral votes, there are popular votes, which are an important factor to consider in U.S. presidential elections. What are they?

Here’s a brief explanation of the difference between the Electoral College and the popular vote in U.S. elections.

What are the Electoral College and Popular Vote?

a. What is the Electoral College

Citing usa.gov, the Electoral College refers to the process of using a group of representatives called “electors” who will officially choose the President and Vice President. This system has been prominent in determining the presidency in the nation since 1787.

b. What is the Popular Vote?

Contrary to electoral votes, popular votes represent the total votes cast by individuals across 50 states and Washington D.C. These votes are particularly prominent in choosing members of Congress, mayors, or state legislators, but it’s not the case for the presidential election.

Electoral College vs Popular Vote: What’s the Difference?

According to the US National Archives website, the Electoral College refers to the process consisting of the selection of electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. Meanwhile, the popular vote is based on the number or percentage of votes cast for a candidate by voters in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. 

According to USA Today, the electoral votes are the final determiners of who will be president and vice president. A candidate must receive 270 electoral votes out of a total of 538 votes to secure the White House.

The popular votes, on the other hand, do not affect the outcome of the election. Instead, they simply represent which candidate is favored nationally by individual voters to win the White House.

To emphasize how important electoral votes are in determining the winner of the election, let’s go back to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. According to USA Today, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes.

However, Donald Trump made a huge leap by winning the Electoral College. He got a good number of 304 electoral votes, while Clinton only got 227 votes.

Therefore, there is no guarantee that the winner of the popular vote will dominate in the Electoral College.

How the Popular Vote Affects the Electoral Vote

Although the Electoral College ultimately decides the presidency, the popular vote can still significantly influence the electoral vote. This is because, according to NBC, electoral votes typically coincide with the winner of the popular vote.

The higher the number of popular votes, the higher the chance of getting more electoral votes. Therefore, if a candidate wins a majority of the popular vote, especially in a state with a large population, they will likely amass a considerable number of electoral votes.

For this reason, presidential candidates campaign in swing states with large populations, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, to gain support and win the popular vote to eventually secure the electoral vote.

USA Today | US National Archive | NBC | The Tenessean

Editor’s Choice: An Intro to the Electoral College and How It Works

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