Obama-Romney tie? US polls too close to call

Rappler.com

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Getting the most number of votes does not guarantee victory in the US presidential elections

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – Rappler multimedia reporter Carmela Fonbuena, who is now in Washington, D.C., explains in this video blog why getting the most number of votes does not guarantee victory in the US presidential elections.

Hello from Washington D.C. I’m a learning a lot about the U.S. presidential elections and it’s very different from ours.

In the Philippines, the candidate who gets the most number of votes wins the elections. It’s that simple.

Here, it’s possible that a candidate gets the most number of votes but lose the elections. It happened in the 2000 US presidential elections when Democratic candidate Al Gore won the popular vote but he lost the elections to Republican candidate George Bush.

Let me try to explain the Electoral College. So here, there are 50 states and each one of them gets a corresponding number of electoral votes depending on how big or small their population.

A very populated state like California gets 55 electoral votes. But Wyoming, with a very small population, only gets 3 electoral votes.

Winner takes all. The candidate who gets the most number of votes in California gets all 55 electoral votes even if he wins it by a very slim margin of say 1000 votes.

Other states with big electoral votes are Texas, Florida, and New York.

There are total 538 electoral votes. To win, President Barrack Obama or Governor Mitt Romney need at least 270 electoral votes. That is half of 538 electoral votes plus one.

Less than 2 weeks before the elections, polls are getting really tight.

RON ELVING

NPR SENIOR WASHINGTON EDITOR

It is entirey posisible, that we will see one candidate wining the popular vote. And the other candidate winning the electoral college.

Here’s an interesting scenario. Analysts are now entertaining the possibility of a tie. President Barrack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney will both get 269 electoral votes.

And what happens? In this scenario, the newly elected members of the House of Representatives will elect the next president.  Each state gets one vote.

RON ELVING

NPR SENIOR WASHINGTON EDITOR

It’s not likely but there is a scenario of a tie in the electoral college, in which case the elections goes to the House of Representatives and to the people who are elected that same night of November 6. The new House not the old House and presumably a Republican House will get one vote per State. California will get exactly as much say in choosing the President as North Dakota, or South Dakota, or Montanna – the least populated parts of the country. That’s nuts. That’s crazy.

Based on general predictions, the Republicans will get the most number of states. Meaning in the rare possibility of a tie, Governor Mtt Romney is going to be the next president of the United States.

Elections here is getting really interesting. This is Rappler Carmela Fonbuena. – Rappler.com


For more on the US Elections, read: 


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