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    • How does it work? How many votes does Ohio have?
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    How does it work? How many votes does Ohio have?

    Pabio Posted on

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    After months of campaigning, an exchange of candidates and much other news, Election Day is here and the votes are counted.

    vice-president Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are competing to see who will control the White House for the next four years.

    One of the most essential, if not the most vital, elements of election night is a famous number: 270. These are the Electoral College votes a candidate needs to win the presidency. The system has existed since the first election, when George Washington won all 69 electoral votes.

    Election Day 2024: See live updates on votes and results for Ohio and Cincinnati

    Five presidents in history have lost the popular vote but still became president by winning the electoral college. The last one to do so was a familiar face, former President Donald Trump in 2016.

    But what is the Electoral College? Why 270 votes? As the elections approach, here’s what you need to know.

    What is the Electoral College and how does it work?

    The college is the means by which American voters indirectly choose the next president and vice president through the electors of each state. There are 538 votes up for grabs between the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the National Archives.

    To win, a candidate must obtain 270 electoral votes, which constitutes a majority of the electoral college.

    According to the National ArchivesBefore the general election, each presidential candidate chooses a slate of electors for each state. If the candidate is declared the winner in the state, his list can then vote in the electoral college.

    Most states win, but in Nebraska and Maine, votes are awarded based on which candidate wins each of the state’s congressional districts. In 2020, Joe Biden won one in five votes in Nebraska while Trump won one in four votes in Maine.

    When was the Electoral College created? Why do we need the Electoral College?

    The Electoral College was designed and adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

    The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution as a compromise between the proposal to elect a president by a vote in Congress and the election of the president by a popular vote.

    How many electoral college votes does each state have?

    Each state receives votes in the Electoral College based on the number of members of Congress it has, which is determined by the census. Small states, like Vermont and Wyoming, get three votes because they have only one member of the House of Representatives and two senators.

    The largest state, California, gets 54 electoral college votes. Although Washington, DC has no members of Congress, it still receives three votes in the Electoral College.

    How many Electoral College votes does Ohio have?

    Ohio gets 17 electoral college votes.

    What happens if there is a tie in the electoral college?

    In the unlikely event that there is a 269-269 tie in the Electoral College, a complicated process would begin to unfold.

    First, newly elected members of the House of Representatives would come together to vote for the new president. Here, each state’s delegation would get one vote. For example, the 52 members of the California House of Representatives would have one vote, the same as Wyoming’s lone member, according to USA.gov.

    Then the Senate would meet to vote for the new vice president, so theoretically a Harris-Vance or Trump-Walz administration could be possible.

    In the Senate, each senator would have their own vote, with a simple majority needed to choose a winner.

    This article has been updated to add new information.

    Contribute : Eric LagattaTHE UNITED STATES TODAY.

    Pabio
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