Georgia’s status as a swing state drew Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to the state frequent to attract voters. It is essential that candidates win swing states if they want to win the election.

That’s because the Electoral College determines who wins the presidency. It’s a process that helps balance how much influence states have over the outcome of an election.

right Cook Political Reportthere are nearly equal numbers of voters in Republican and Democratic states. This is why swing states like Georgia have the power to determine who wins the presidency.

How does the Electoral College work?

The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors nationwide, and a presidential candidate must get 270 votes to win the election.

In most states, the number of electors is determined by the sum of seats in the US Senate and House. Each state has two U.S. senators, and the number of representatives in the U.S. House is determined by population size.

For example, Georgia has two US Senators and 14 House Representatives; that’s why it has 16 voters.

In all 50 states, each political party has its own list of voters on deck before the election. Regardless of which candidate wins the popular vote in a state, that party’s slate of voters participates in the Electoral College.

For example, Biden won the popular vote in Georgia in 2020. Therefore, a slate of 16 Democratic electors voted into the Electoral College. (The separate slate of 16 Republicans did not get to vote.)

The winner of an election can be projected on election night, although the electoral process is not over. this year, the electoral vote will be held on December 17 and Counting of these votes by Congress will take place on January 6.

Before an election, voters commit to voting for their party’s appropriate candidate Library of Congress. This unanimous vote is called a winner-takes-all system. It is extremely rare for voters to vote for another party’s candidate, known as a “faithless vote”.

Why the Electoral College?

The Electoral College creates a more level playing field for states with drastically different populations. Under a popular vote system, states with small populations would have little influence compared to states with massive populations.

It was originally established to boost the political power of southern slave states and protects the institution of slaveryreports PBS.

About 63 percent of Americans would prefer the popular vote to decide elections, not the Electoral College, according to Pew Research Center. The poll found that more Democrats oppose the Electoral College than Republicans, but Republican support is declining.

They were five cases in US history where the Electoral College produced a different result than the popular vote, according to the National Archives. The two recent instances were in 2000 and 2016, when Al Gore and later Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in those years.

The Electoral College of Georgia

Each state’s party leadership decides its voter list before the election. For example, the Republican Party of Georgia has a list of 16 people who would automatically become voters if Trump wins Georgia.

The way georgia.gov says, “When you vote for a presidential candidate, you’re not actually voting for the president; you vote for a group of people called “voters”.

Electors are usually state lawmakers or other prominent state party members. The only requirement is that the person cannot hold a federal position.

Notable names among the 2020 Democratic voters were Stacey Abrams, who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Georgia in 2022, then-state representative Nikema Williams (now a U.S. House representative), and state lawmakers Gloria Butler and Calvin Smyre.

The fake voters of the 2020 election

In the 2020 election, Biden received 302 electoral votes, exceeding the 270 needed to win.

After the election, some states, including Georgia, tried to certify alternate voter rolls to overturn the results in Trump’s favor.

It was a coordinated plan that called for seven swing states — all states that Biden won — to appoint Republican electors to falsely declare Trump the winner in those states.

The plan allegedly fraudulently gave Trump the electoral votes he needed to win the election.

In Georgia, 16 lying voters signed a document falsely stating that Trump won Georgia.

The plan failed and the 16 people were among 19 people indicted on racketeering charges in The Georgia Election Interference Case.