USA 2024: A look at the electoral college and how it works

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00:00On November 5th, around 240 million Americans will have the right to vote for the next president

00:07of the United States.

00:09But they don't actually elect number 47 directly.

00:14That's down to the famous Electoral College, 538 electors across 50 states and the District

00:22of Columbia.

00:24The presidential candidate who wins the majority of at least 270 gets the keys to the Oval

00:31Office.

00:32But not all states are created equal.

00:39Some get a meagre three or four electors, others up to a whopping 54.

00:46The number depends partly on population size.

00:50Speaking of which, how does the US population vote?

00:55Urban areas are more likely to vote Democrat, rural Republican.

01:01Take 2020.

01:03Donald Trump supporters on average lived more than 30 kilometers from a large town.

01:10States down south and large parts of the Midwest are traditionally Republican Red, the Northeast

01:17and West Coast Democrat Blue.

01:20Which is why presidential candidates spend most of their time and money in the swing

01:25states where voters are neither reliably red nor dependably blue.

01:34In 2020, 98% of Donald Trump and Joe Biden's official trips were in only 12 states.

01:45This year, charm offensives will be stepped up in six key battlegrounds.

01:50Here, the economy is a top concern across the board as inflation weighs on wallets.

01:58But candidates also have to adapt to state-by-state concerns.

02:03For Rust Belt battlegrounds, it's jobs and purchasing power.

02:07For Border State Arizona, immigration.

02:11Racial justice and police reform are important in Georgia, where a third of the population

02:16is African American.

02:18And in Michigan, it's the conflict in Gaza that counts for the large Muslim community.

02:23But just how these states will swing comes down to the ballot and the electoral college,

02:31which officially designates the future president in December.

02:35And he or she will finally get to move into the White House after their January 20th inauguration.

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