Posted: 11/5/2012 10:43:50 PM EDT
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There is something I've been wondering awhile but can't seem to find an answer with google.
How is it determined who wins a state in the presidential election (or state governor, etc ) ? I know they break it up by county but I'm not sure how that affects it. Do they add up the total for popular vote for that state, or is each county divided with a set amount of worth much like the electoral college. |
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I think in every case it's simply the popular vote. There was a time when that wasn't necessarily true.
The vote is typically reported by county since that's the level where it's... counted. Counties develop certain reputations about being conservative or liberal, high population or low, slow to count or fast, etc. Remember though, once the state's results are in, then the electoral college comes into action. And states vary on whether electoral delegates select the winning candidate or split their votes according to the full election results. And the electoral college has a number of delegates identical to the number of both representatives and senators for that state; so the smallest state will have 3 (2 senators plus 1 rep), while the largest has probably 35 or more. This slightly tweaks the numbers in favor of smaller states, which would otherwise be totally irrelevant. All of this is per my understanding of the logistics, which may be very wrong. |
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I wonder why people make such a big deal about carrying certain counties. Does the winner of that county gain the votes of all the votes from that county for the state total ? I don't think so, but I would like to know about about how it works. If it is just the popular vote that is simple enough.
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Quoted:
I think in every case it's simply the popular vote. There was a time when that wasn't necessarily true. The vote is typically reported by county since that's the level where it's... counted. Counties develop certain reputations about being conservative or liberal, high population or low, slow to count or fast, etc. Remember though, once the state's results are in, then the electoral college comes into action. And states vary on whether electoral delegates select the winning candidate or split their votes according to the full election results. And the electoral college has a number of delegates identical to the number of both representatives and senators for that state; so the smallest state will have 3 (2 senators plus 1 rep), while the largest has probably 35 or more. This slightly tweaks the numbers in favor of smaller states, which would otherwise be totally irrelevant. All of this is per my understanding of the logistics, which may be very wrong. I'm pretty familiar with that stuff. Just don't know about how the state is determined, and having trouble finding out. |
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Quoted:
I wonder why people make such a big deal about carrying certain counties. Does the winner of that county gain the votes of all the votes from that county for the state total ? I don't think so, but I would like to know about about how it works. If it is just the popular vote that is simple enough. Same reason they want to carry Ohio. Some counties just have a reputation for being like swing states; they're large and very evenly tied, so they're important to win. That's where the campaigning happens. |