What is the electoral vote vs the popular vote? (US)
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It’s best to think of electoral votes as “points” that you get for winning a state. To win the election you don’t need the highest number of votes, you need the most “points”. So, imagine a world where not many people show up to vote in a state that is worth a lot of points. Like 500 people show up to vote for candidate #1, he wins the points and that’s it. Then, in a smaller state worth less points, a LOT of people show up to vote for candidate #2. Like 45,000 people. Candidate #2 wins that state and gets the points.
But, that state wasn’t worth as many points because not as many people live in the state, even though more people voted in that state than in the larger state. So, even though candidate #2 got more physical votes, he didn’t win as many points, and so candidate #1 wins the election.
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