The Electoral College: A Closer Look Ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election
As the 2024 US presidential election rapidly approaches, the discourse surrounding the Electoral College system has intensified once again. This unique system, established by the framers of the Constitution, plays a pivotal role in determining the next president. Rather than a direct popular vote, the president is elected indirectly through this college.
In contemporary elections, a candidate must secure at least 270 electoral votes from various states to claim victory. The framers designed this system to enhance the role of individual states in the electoral process, serving as a compromise to prevent Congress from unilaterally deciding the outcome of elections. Consequently, the narrative of past presidential elections is best illustrated through a detailed examination of state-by-state voting patterns.
Below, you will find a comprehensive breakdown of each state’s popular vote in every presidential election since 1924. In this visualization, blue represents the Democratic Party, red signifies the Republican Party, and the top bar indicates total votes for third-party candidates or independents. It is important to note that Hawaii and Alaska became states only in 1959, while the District of Columbia has had electoral votes since the 1964 election.
The chart reveals some striking trends, particularly in terms of state competitiveness. For instance, in South Dakota, the Democratic Party has only triumphed in a mere five presidential elections since the state was admitted to the union in 1889. Conversely, states like Maryland, Minnesota, and Massachusetts have emerged as strongholds for the Democrats, while Republicans have gained substantial dominance across much of the southeastern United States and various western states.
Although the Democratic Party may have fewer states solidly in their corner, the states they rely on collectively wield a significant number of electoral votes. On the other hand, Republicans tend to achieve sweeping margins in less populous states such as Wyoming and Idaho, which carry less electoral weight due to their smaller population sizes.
This dynamic necessitates that Republicans maintain a broad coalition of states while simultaneously attempting to peel away as many states from the Democrats’ grasp as possible to secure victory. In recent years, medium-sized “purple” states like Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina have shown a noticeable trend toward the Democratic Party, with little indication that the strongly blue states are shifting in the opposite direction.