2020 United States Elections: Why Does Some States Vote Matter More Than Others?

The electoral system in the United States makes some states have much more importance than others when it comes to counting. But this does not necessarily mean that some votes are worth more than others, since the importance of states is directly related to their population. Scrutiny in US elections has a particularity, the process of which we will explain here. The votes in the total of the country are not added directly, but each state is counted separately, and then the results are computed in each state, but in a special way.The great particularity is that the candidate who wins in each state takes all the votes obtained in that state, leaving the rival at zero. It does not matter if the result in a specific state is very close or a candidate clearly wins, the winner will take all the votes.The next point to consider is how many votes each state contributes. The objective of the candidates is to reach a total of 270 electoral votes – as if we were talking about seats in Spain for the count. Each state is assigned a number of electoral votes based on its population, thus, victories in the most populous states bring candidates very close to victory. The most populous state in the entire country, California, casts 55 electoral votes. If we remember that the goal is to reach 270, only here is one fifth of the goal already achieved. As there is a clear tradition of Democratic victories here, their candidates – now Joe Biden – always have some of the electoral work done already. Victory is also often taken for granted for the Democratic Party in New York State, which is another of the most populous in the country, grants 29 electoral votes.The Republican Party has great prestige in all deep America, throughout the center of the country, from north to south. But many of these states have the problem, facing the elections, of having a small population. Thus, among the states that are taken for granted for Republicans, we find several that barely contribute 3 electoral votes, such as Wyoming, the two Dakotas, or the 4 votes given by Idaho, the 6 from Arkansas or Missouri, the 8 from Louisiana, the Alamaba 9, the West Virginia 5, or the Kentucky 8. Adding up all these states, we have barely exceeded 55 in California. There the importance of the population. We still have to mention the ‘swing states’, those that in the end are the ones that decide elections. Florida has 29 electoral votes and Ohio has 18: they are probably the most important in each appointment, because to their large number of electoral votes they add the fact of being changeable in their election in each appointment. The second most populous state in the country is Texas , which with 29 million people gives 38 electoral votes. There the favoritism points slightly to the Republican Party, but by a slim margin. If Joe Biden were able to seize this status, the party would be practically in favor of the Democratic Party on November 3.