William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

How do American elections work? 305

has 55 (see How It Works: The Electoral College). In most states, electoral votes are

allocated on a winner-take-all basis: the candidate who receives the most votes from

a given state’s citizens gets all of that state’s electoral votes. But two states, Maine and

Nebraska, allocate most of their electoral votes at the congressional district level: in

those states, the candidate who wins the most votes in each congressional district

wins that district’s single electoral vote. Then the remaining 2 electoral votes go to

the candidate who gets the most votes statewide.^12

The winner-take-all method of allocating most states’ electoral votes makes

candidates focus their attention on two kinds of states: high-population states with lots

of electoral votes and so-called swing states where the contest is relatively close. It’s

better for a candidate to spend a day campaigning in California ( 55 electoral votes) than

in Montana (3 electoral votes). However, if one candidate is sure to win a particular

state, both candidates will direct their efforts elsewhere. For example, during the final

week of the 2016 campaign, both campaigns focused on states still in play: Trump’s

campaign followed the strategy described in the How It Works feature, focusing on

Florida, North Carolina, and key Rust Belt states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan,

and Wisconsin, and the Clinton campaign responded with increased advertising and

rallies in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida.

Nuts & Bolts 9.2 divides states based on their electoral vote and whether they are

swing states—defined as states that each party won at least once from 2004 to 2016.

The table explains why both campaigns in 2016 spent so much time and campaign

funds on states such as Ohio and Florida (swing states with a large number of electoral

votes)—and why they largely ignored states such as Delaware (small state, one-party-

dominates category).

After citizens’ votes are counted, each state’s slate of electors meets in December in

the state capitals. At their meetings, the electors almost always vote for the presidential

candidate they have pledged to support. After the votes are certified by a joint session of

Congress, the candidate who wins a majority of the nation’s electoral votes (at least 270)

is the new president. One peculiarity of the electoral college is that in most states it is

legal for an elector to either (1) vote for a candidate he or she is not pledged to support or

(2) abstain from voting.^13 Such events are uncommon for the simple reason that electors

are selected by the presidential candidates with an eye toward reliable support.

After the 2016 presidential election,

the close popular vote tally plus

fears of outside interference in

electronic vote counting systems led

to calls for recounts in several key

states. Petitions to conduct recounts

were filed in Nevada, Wisconsin,

Pennsylvania, Florida, and Michigan

(shown here), though several of these

recounts were halted by court orders.

NUTS

& B O LT S

9.2

Electoral Votes

and Swing States

Presidential campaigns focus their

attention on states with high electoral

votes and swing states where each

candidate has a good chance of

winning. In this box, we group states

into categories based on their number

of electoral votes and on whether one

party always won the state in recent

presidential elections.

One Party Dominates in Recent Elections?

Number of

Electoral Votes

Ye s

(Not a Swing State)

No

(Swing State)

3–5 D.C., Delaware, Alaska, Montana, North Dakota,

South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, Hawaii,

Maine, Rhode Island, Idaho, Nebraska,

West Virginia

New Hampshire,

New Mexico

6–10 Arkansas, Kansas, Utah, Connecticut, Oregon,

Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama,

South Carolina, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri,

Minnesota

Iowa, Nevada,

Colorado,

Wisconsin

More than 10 Massachusetts, Arizona, Tennessee, Washington,

New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas,

California

Indiana, Virginia,

North Carolina,

Ohio, Florida,

Michigan,

Pennsylvania

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