te. Every state has a certain number of allotted electoral votes that will be cast for the presidency. The minimum number a state can have is three. The District of Columbia is also given three electoral votes – the same as the smallest state. Each state is given one vote for each representative in the house and one for each of its two senators. For example, in this year’s election, Florida has twenty-five electoral votes: two for its senators and another twenty-three for each of its congressional districts. Whichever candidate wins the popular vote in a particular state wins all of its electoral votes. Due to changes in population, the number of representatives for each state changes every ten years with the new census results. And, consequently, so does the distribution of the electoral votes. This year, five hundred thirty eight votes were apportioned to the fifty states and DC, making the magic number two hundred seventy. Whichever candidate hits two hundred seventy votes wins the presidency.So just who are these electors? Electors are actual people selected for each election that vote according to the states popular vote. They are typically political party loyalists or individuals that have some affiliation with the candidates. And how are they chosen? Parties nominate electors at their state party conventions or by a vote of the party’s central committee in the state. An elector could really be anyone. Only a few regulations are outlined in the constitution as to who cannot be an elector. Obviously, they can’t be Senators or Representatives. Interestingly, there is no federal law or constitutional provision that mandates electors to vote as they pledged. Only twenty-four of the fifty states require their electors to vote in accordance with the states popular vote. And, of these, only five states actually have penalties for failure to do so. These penalties are mediocre at best. For example, Oklahoma imposes...
