A Brief History of the Electoral College
The Electoral College is composed of 538 members who cast their votes and ultimately decide the presidential race. It was established in 1787 by the framers of the Constitution partly as a way to get states whose economies depended on the labor of enslaved African people to wield more power in the young nation’s election process.
A recent episode of The Daily, “A Peculiar Way to Pick a President,” goes on to explain how the electoral college was nearly abolished in 1966 after first-term Indiana Senator Birch Bayh brought the issue to the senate floor. His attempt was unsuccessful, but there were several later efforts made to get the system changed.
In the 2016 presidential election, it was the electoral college’s decision that gave Donald Trump the presidency, despite Hillary Clinton earning more than three million votes by Americans.
In 2001, Al Gore also lost the presidential election by way of the electoral college's decision.
So, what does it mean to have Hillary Clinton in the ranks?
“Pretty sure I’ll get to vote for Joe (Biden) and Kamala (Harris)”
Clinton made the declaration in a recent interview. She is listed as one of the 29 delegates of New York who will cast their votes on Tuesday (November 3) and “can’t wait."
If the popular vote in New York is in favor of Joe Biden, the 29 delegates including Clinton, will vote for him to be president.
According to a report by 270towin.com the state of New York has backed the Democratic nominee with all 29 electoral votes for the past eight elections.
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