Who decides the final outcome? How many votes does it take to win? Who are the electors? Why are there battleground states?

In just over a week, the most anticipated election in four years in the United States will take place, amid serious divisions in the world's leading power, while conflicts are escalating globally.

The 2024 US presidential election is a race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. (Source: Getty Images)

The 2024 US presidential election is a two-horse race between current US Vice President Kamala Harris, a member of the Democratic Party, and former US President Donald Trump, a Republican candidate. Ms. Harris' running mate is Mr. Tim Walz, while Mr. Trump's partner is Mr. James David Vance.

Before "G-hour", The World and Vietnam Newspaper would like to introduce to readers some basic concepts and information about the 2024 US presidential election.

Election time?

US law requires presidential elections to be held every four years in even-numbered years. Election Day falls on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. So the 2024 election is scheduled to take place on November 5.

However, many people can also vote early by other means such as voting by mail. The US state of Georgia has conducted early voting by direct form since October 15.

Who can vote?

According to the Constitution, US citizens aged 18 and over can vote. However, during elections, a large number of people do not vote.

Who is eligible to run for office?

By law, to be president, a person must be born in the United States, at least 35 years old, and have been a permanent resident of the United States for at least 14 years. The vice president must also meet similar standards.

How to choose a presidential candidate?

After determining their top candidates in the primary election, the Democratic and Republican parties will hold national conventions to officially nominate their party's candidates to run for president and vice president.

To receive the nomination, each candidate needs to achieve a majority of delegate votes.

In the 2024 election, in the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump officially won the nomination after receiving 2,387 out of 2,429 delegate votes.

On the Democratic side, Vice President Kamala Harris also received the party's nomination after President Joe Biden stopped running in late July.

Election process on November 5

All American voters participate in the popular vote in the states they live in. The counting and announcement of results is conducted on a state-by-state basis.

After the popular vote is counted, based on the results, electors representing each state will vote for president.

Map of the 2024 US election. Gray shows swing states, or battleground states in this year's election. (Source: 270 to win)

How many votes does it take to win?

Any candidate who wins at least 270 electoral votes, or more than 50% of the 538 electoral votes, will be elected President of the United States.

What is universal suffrage?

These are the votes cast by all eligible American voters. However, these votes are not the ones that determine the victory of a candidate. The person who wins the majority of the national popular vote does not necessarily win the election.

The clearest evidence for this "ironic" case is the 2016 presidential election when Republican candidate Donald Trump won even though he lost to Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton by 2 million popular votes.

Who are the electors?

The Electors are the people who represent their states to vote for President and Vice President. It is the Electors who decide the final outcome of the race for the White House.

The number of electors for each state is usually determined based on the state's population and is equal to the state's total number of senators and representatives.

Washington, D.C., although it has no members of Congress , is still awarded three electoral votes under the 23rd Amendment. The total number of electors is currently 538.

The electors make up the state's Electoral College. Members of the Electoral College may or may not vote for the presidential candidate who won the majority of the popular vote in their state.

As of 2020, only 33 of the 50 states require electors to vote according to the popular vote. As a result, although rare, there have been a few instances of electors voting against the popular vote in their respective states.

In most states (except Maine and Nebraska), the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes also receives all of that state's electoral votes.

What is a battleground state?

A swing state, battleground state, or battleground is a term used to refer to any state where either the Democratic or Republican presidential candidate has a reasonable chance of winning by flipping the vote. These states are often the target of campaigning.

Meanwhile, states that consistently lean toward a single party are known as safe states.

Battleground states can change over the course of certain election cycles. In the 2024 presidential election, there are seven battleground states: North Carolina (16 electoral votes), tied with Georgia, Pennsylvania (18 votes), Wisconsin (10 votes), Arizona (11 votes), Michigan (15 votes) and Nevada (6 votes).

What if no candidate wins at least 270 electoral votes?

According to the schedule, on January 6, 2025, the US Vice President will preside over the counting of the Electoral College votes at a joint session of the US Congress, announce the results and declare the winner.

Although very rare, there is a scenario where no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes. In this case, the US House of Representatives would have the right to elect the President from among the candidates with the most votes.

Once the results are official and there are no more disputes, the winner will be sworn in and officially assume the position of President in a ceremony taking place on January 20, 2025.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/election-of-the-US-President-2024-final-result-do-who-decides-how-many-votes-are-needed-to-win-the-grand-chair-who-is-why-there-a-political-battle-291625.html