How America’s electoral college favours white voters
A ballot cast in New Hampshire is 100,000 times likelier to tip the result than one in Washington, DC
A FUNDAMENTAL TEST for any voting system is whether it treats citizens equally. America’s presidential election uses the “electoral college”, which allocates 538 votes based on states’ representation in Congress. A candidate who wins the popular vote in a state is allocated its chunk of electoral-college votes (ECVS)—from just three for Vermont, to 55 for California. Nominees must amass 270 ECVS to win.
This article appeared in the Graphic detail section of the print edition under the headline "The old college try"
From the August 15th 2020 edition
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