Why popular vote doesn’t always determine presidential winners. What Texas voters should know
The U.S. presidential election is not like other political races in at least one way: the Electoral College.
What does this mean?
The popular vote does not elect the president or vice president, the Electoral College does. However, the popular vote does elect members of Congress, mayors, governors, state legislators, and other elected officials.
Texans who go to cast their ballot on Nov. 5 during the general election are influencing the popular vote but also technically voting for their state’s Electoral College. The Electoral College is chosen based on the state’s political party with the most votes from the election.
While it might seem a little confusing, we will explain why there is a popular vote and how the voting process works.
Why is there a popular vote
“The popular vote is simply the candidate that received the largest total number of votes from the American citizens that cast their vote,” according to Pepperdine University.
A president can lose the popular vote and win an election. This happens when the candidate wins enough states to reach 270 electoral votes. The most recent instance was in 2016, when former President Donald Trump, a Republican, won against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
“The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens,” according to the National Archives.
How the voting process works
After votes are counted on Election Day, each state’s electoral votes are determined. If a majority of people’s votes in Texas are for a Republican candidate, all of the Lone Star state’s electoral votes go to that candidate.
The final count of electoral votes is by Congress on Jan. 6. A candidate needs 270 votes (out of 538) to win the election. The elected president and vice president then take office on Jan. 20.
This story was originally published October 6, 2024 at 8:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct information about how electoral votes for president are determined based on a state’s popular vote, as well as the purpose of the Electoral College as outlined in the Constitution.