Do we actually vote for the president? No. Ballots show the names of the candidates who are running for president; however, we do not vote for them directly. The national popular vote does not count. The actual voting for president and vice president is done by state-appointed electors, who collectively are called the Electoral College. These electors are either Republican or Democratic party members who have promised to vote for their respective party’s nominee.

How many electors does a state have? Each state is allocated electors according to the number of representatives they have (based on population) plus two for their two senators. Ohio has 17 electoral votes. This system grants greater representation per capita to smaller states. Wyoming, the smallest state, has one elector for 195,495 people, and California, the largest state, has one elector for 720,181 people. Washington, DC, gets three electoral votes, bringing the total to 538.

How do the states allocate their electoral votes to the candidates? Almost all states allocate all their electoral votes to the candidate who gets the most votes in their state. Nebraska and Maine split their electoral votes according to the popular vote in that state.

Does the Electoral College always elect the candidate who gets the most votes across the country? No. Five times the candidate who won in the Electoral College was the loser of the popular vote. Most recently in 2016, Hillary Clinton won 2.8 million more votes than Donald Trump in the popular vote. Trump won the Electoral College convincingly 304 to 227.

Why are the candidates spending most of their time campaigning in just eight states? The outcome in 42 states is predictable. Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska are competitive enough to swing the outcome in the Electoral College.

When will we know who is elected president? Election day this year is November 5th. Television screens will fill up with maps showing the red (Republican) and blue (Democratic) states as partial vote counts come in. The eight swing states are usually shown in light red or light blue to indicate predictions on how they will go according to different scenarios for either candidate getting 270 electoral votes to win. Uncertainty is to be expected. Mail-in ballots take time to verify and count, and recounts may be required in states where the vote is extremely narrow. Legal challenges are already being made. Thus, the outcome may not be known for days.

What is the timeline for the Electoral College? On December 11th the governor of each state signs the Certificate of Ascertainment to appoint the electors chosen in the general election. On December 17th the electors in each state meet to cast their votes for president and vice president. On January 6th Congress meets to certify the vote. According to the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transitional Improvement Act of 2022, Congress can only accept the certificate from the governor of each state. Congress counts the votes submitted by each state. If no one candidate receives a majority, the election goes to the House of Representatives, where each state has one vote.

Should the Electoral College be abolished? The current system is undemocratic. It disenfranchises conservative urban voters and liberal rural votes. To gain electoral votes the candidates spend almost all their time campaigning in the swing states. These eight states combined have under 19% of the total US population. Electing the president by direct popular vote would force candidates to compete for every vote in every state.

Jacqueline Richey, member of Living Democracy: Engaging Citizens, a local citizen group. Our mission is to inform and educate the Mid-Ohio Valley about how government works on the local, state, and federal levels and how citizens can be involved to make our democracy work. Join us the third Wednesday of each month. livingdemocracymov@gmail.com and facebook/speak foryourselfvote and Youtube channel Living Democracy