The select number of states are in full swing for the 2024 election (Picture: AP / GETTY / Katie Ingham)
‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.’
Replace ‘animals’ with ‘votes’ and this quote from George Orwell’s Animal Farm becomes quite apt during US election season. Especially given how the book’s a satire about the rank hypocrisy of governments that claim to be equal and fair but hand inordinate power and privileges over to an undeserving few.
Surely all votes are of equal value in an election though, right? And, in a way, they are. But in another, slightly more accurate and realistic way, they absolutely aren’t. Not when swing states form such an inescapably integral part of the democratic process, anyway. Welcome to American politicking.
See? Not complicated in the slightest… [EYES EMOJI] (Picture: Getty Images)
What exactly are ‘swing states’?
‘Swing states’, also known by the far cooler name of ‘battleground states’, are those of the 50 United States where both major political parties have a genuine chance of winning over the majority of voters in a presidential election.
Unlike solidly Democratic or Republican states, which almost always lean toward one party or the other, swing states can – and very often do – shift (or ‘swing’ – see? Clever, eh…?) between elections, making them highly unpredictable.
It’s their sheer uncertainty that gives them their significance and outsized importance. Given that their electoral votes can decide the overall outcome of the election and determine who gets to enjoy all 55,000 sq. ft. of The White House completely rent-free for four years.
Candidates tend to focus a great deal of their attention on these particular states, tailoring almost their entire presidential campaigns specifically to win over the undecided or persuadable voters living in them. Essentially, swing states are where the real election happens. Winning them tends to be the key to securing the presidency.
Just a handful of US states could well decide the nation’s future… For the next four years, at least (Picture: Getty Images)
Why swing states matter in US presidential elections
Individual votes carry more weight in swing states because of their potential impact. That wouldn’t be the case were the outcome of a US presidential election decided by a simple nationwide count. But it isn’t. America uses ‘The Electoral College’ system to determine who gets to call themselves POTUS.
Here’s where it gets a bit complicated… Each state is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on that particular state’s representation in Congress (which is the number of senators it has plus the number of house members). In total there are 538 electoral votes which have to be divvied up across the 50 states. A candidate needs 270 votes to win.
Most states employ something of a ‘winner-takes-all’ approach to the system, meaning the candidate with the most votes in a state gets all of its electoral votes. Running it this way really ramps up the importance of swing states, where the most subtle of voting …read more
Source:: Metro
