The electoral college could cost the Democrats the Presidency again…

We are now in the final few days of the quadrennial US election cycle.

The race is so evenly split between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

The bookies though have Trump as slight favourite and we all know they are never too far out.

But the possibility of Harris winning the popular vote and losing the election is a distinct possibility.

This isn’t due to voter fraud or corruption but the totally undemocratic electoral college which really decides US elections.

Here’s an overview of how the electoral college works in practice:

Established by Article II, Section 1, clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the institution through which the next president of the United States is chosen. There are 538 total electors who cast their vote, and a presidential candidate must achieve a simple majority of electoral votes (270) to win the election.

Each state receives at least two electoral votes—one electoral vote per senator—and an additional number of votes equal to the state’s number of representatives in the House of Representatives. This ensures that even the least populus states receive at least three electoral votes. This system for allocating votes means that as state populations fluctuate with each decennial census, states’ total electoral college votes are responsive to changes in the composition of the country.

The presidential election is the only U.S. election in which the Electoral College is used to elect the winning candidate; the popular vote is used to determine all congressional, state, and local races.

This rather backwards system cost Al Gore and Hilary Clinton the White House in 2000 and 2016.

But the chances of any change to the system are slim to none as the US Constitution is sacrosanct.

So, as voters go to the polls in the US this Tuesday, isn’t it frankly mad that the votes cast won’t be the deciding factor?

This is a guest slot to give a platform for new writers either as a one off, or a prelude to becoming part of the regular Slugger team.