What’s 270? The math game behind the US election

Washington, November 3

What’s all this hubbub about 270? It’s not in regards to the 270 whales stranded this fall on Australia’s island state of Tasmania. It’s not about congestion on Interstate 270 feeding commuters into Washington, D.C. It’s about who’s going to take a seat within the White House for the subsequent 4 years.

It’s the electoral faculty

Nearly 2.9 million extra individuals voted for Hillary Clinton within the 2016 presidential election, however she nonetheless misplaced.

President Donald Trump gained as a result of he took the Electoral College, below a system arrange within the US Constitution and refined via the centuries.

This is the place the magic quantity comes into play. To win the White House, a candidate should win a minimum of 270 electoral votes.

That’s a majority of the 538 which are up for grabs within the 50 states.

The numbers

Each state is allotted a distinct variety of electoral votes, primarily based on what number of representatives it has within the House, plus its two senators.

California has essentially the most electoral votes with 55. Texas is subsequent with 38 electoral votes. The candidate who wins New York or Florida can pocket 29 electoral votes towards the race to get 270. Illinois and Pennsylvania every have 20. Rounding out the highest 10 listing of states with essentially the most electoral votes is Ohio with 18; Georgia and Michigan with 16 and North Carolina with 15.

Trump’s greatest path

Trump has a number of paths to 270, however his greatest route hinges on profitable Florida and Pennsylvania. If he wins each states and holds onto North Carolina and Arizona, which he narrowly carried in 2016, and likewise Georgia and Ohio, which he gained in 2016 however is now aggressive, he’ll win.

With 29 electoral votes, Florida is arguably essentially the most essential state for Trump. A loss there would make it almost unattainable for him to retain the White House.

What Biden wants

Democrat Joe Biden’s marketing campaign is laser-focused on the states within the Midwest and shut by that Trump flipped in 2016 — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. He’s additionally making an enormous play for Arizona, a state that hasn’t backed a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996.

Biden can also be redoubling his deal with Florida, the largest prize among the many perennial battlegrounds and a state that may just about block Trump’s reelection if it swings Democratic. — AP