Maryann Corozzo '26
Election day is on November 5th every year, and it is obviously a pivotal event in the United States. The origins of Election Day date back to the 19th century, when travel was difficult for people. The timing allowed farmers to vote after the harvest season. Election Day has become an important event in the U.S. where people vote for leaders, including the president and local officials.
In 1787, some people wanted a direct election while others favored an election by Congress. They compromised on a plan of indirect election by electors picked by popular vote, and this became the electoral process for choosing the president. The number of electoral votes is the combined number of a state’s U.S. senators and representatives. Today there are 535 representatives and senators plus three electors from the District of Columbia, for a total of 538 electors.
The Electoral College has a “double-election” system: first, the people vote on election day, and then six weeks later the electors go to their capital to vote for whoever won the majority in their state. Back then, people were traveling on horses, making travel slow. Although today things are much more advanced, they still wait six weeks.
If you did not already know, Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, so this election was a comeback for him. After losing the 2020 election, he became the first former president to be charged with either state or federal crimes.
But on November 6 of this year, Donald Trump was elected to be America’s 47th president. Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris by 86 electoral votes. Trump won the battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. He surpassed the electoral vote threshold of 270 by 21 votes, getting a total of 291 electoral votes.
Exit polling showed Trump won among White voters with no college education, and he made inroads with Black and Latino men. Exit polling also showed that voters believed Trump would do a better job of confronting illegal immigration at the southern border.
Donald Trump’s victory challenged two assassination attempts, two presidential impeachments, his criminal conviction, and more. President Trump will be sworn in at the inauguration date, January 20th.
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