Cast Your Vote for America s Fish
hey there! i want to do something a little bit different today; one of my favorite concepts online is "explain like i'm five." i think we as humans should be constantly learning, expanding our brains and so that's what this is; it's a chance for us as a community to figure shit out together, and just learn. so let's get down to it.
so the question today; "what is the electoral college and why does it matter?" so here's the breakdown; the electoral college is made up of 538 electors, who cast votes to decide the president and the vice president of the united states. when the voters go to the polls on election day, which, this is a reminder! go november 8th! if you didn't go and mail it in
you didn't go early; november 8th, tuesday, go fucking vote. ok, so, voters on election day will be choosing which candidate receives their state's electors. "but where does the number of 538 come from phil?" well, the number 538 is the sum of the nation's 435 representatives, 100 senators, and 3 electors, given to the district of columbia. the candidate who receives a majority
of the electoral votes, which is 270, wins. okay, so, how does the electoral college work? well, every four years voters go to the polls and select a candidate for president and vice president. actually, you know what? this will be a lot easier. at a minimum each state gets three electoral votes. larger states have more electoral votes, because the state house delegation is determined by population.
oh, and the district of columbia, or dc for short, receives 3 electoral votes, which makes the total 538. in all but two states, the candidate who wins the majority of the votes wins the state's electoral votes. in nebraska and maine, electoral votes are assigned by what is called 'proportional representation', meaning that the top 'vote getter' in those states wins two electoral votes, while the remaining are divided up according to the results in the congressional districts of those states.
basically, not all of nebraska's five, or maine's four electoral votes have to go to the same candidate, unlike the winner-take-all system in the other 48 states. it's kind of weird when you think about it. let's talk about the biggest states in the electoral college. in the 2016 election, california comes in with 55, texas clocking in at 38, and then you have florida and new york at 29. now, keep in mind the exact number of electoral votes for each of these states changes from year to year with population size,
and it's not just some weird unfair advantage for large states, like, landmass wise alaska is the biggest us state, but they only get three electoral votes. they're getting all those votes because of the population, because remember, the number of electoral votes given to each state reflects the sum of the representatives and senators it sends to congress. okay! i think everyone's still on board. basically this is why the electoral college matters; it makes the united states different
from other systems where the highest vote-getter automatically wins. some agree with the current system, and others say it's outdated it needs to be modernized. but now that you know a little more about it, what do you think? do you think it's fine the way it is? do you think there should be proportional representation, like in maine and nebraska? do you think that it should be popular vote? i'd love to know what you think, and why, in the comments down below.
also of course you liked this video, hit that like button! if you new here hit that subscribe button! but of course, as always, my name is philip defranco, you've just been phill'd in, i love yo faces, and i'll see you next time.
