Why are the presidential candidates spending so much time in so few states as election day approaches? They are fighting for the votes that matter – electoral votes.
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All eyes on the swing states
In the last three days of campaigning, you will likely NOT see either President Barack Obama or his challenger Mitt Romney campaigning in the two most populous of the 50 US states, California and Texas.
They could both probably gain votes by making campaign appearances there, but they don't need those kind of votes.
A US president is elected by winning the most electoral votes given by the states, not popular votes cast by ordinary voters. It is true that voters in each state choose a presidential candidate on the ballot, but they are really choosing electors who have promised to vote for that candidate.
They could both probably gain votes by making campaign appearances there, but they don't need those kind of votes.
A US president is elected by winning the most electoral votes given by the states, not popular votes cast by ordinary voters. It is true that voters in each state choose a presidential candidate on the ballot, but they are really choosing electors who have promised to vote for that candidate.
The number of electors a state has depends on the number of representatives it has in the House of Representativesplus two for its senators. The total number of electors is 538: for 435 representives +100 senators + 3 electors for the District of Columbia, the home of the nation's capital, Washington DC.
All but two of the states, Maine and Nebraska, choose their electors on a "winner takes all basis". Thus, if Mitt Romney wins Ohio by one vote, he takes all 18 of its electoral votes. And if he is able to gather 270 electoral votes on election day, he becomes president. President Obama remains president if he reaches that magic number.
It makes little sense for candidates to campaign where they are certain to win or certain to lose. This year, polls show President Obama with a huge 13-15% lead in California and Mitt Romney with an even more impressive 20% lead in Texas. Thus, campaigning in either state is a waste of time.
Instead, they are spending almost all their time in states where polls show the election to be very close, big states like Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Virginia and even smaller states like Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Hampshire. These are known as swing states (the result could swing from one side to another) or battleground states.
Ohio seems to be at the top of the list, seen as a must win for both camps. As a result, voters there have beenbombarded with campaign advertising – some areas of the state have been seeing more than 300 TV ads a day – and each candidate has been there numerous times. They are probably not finished.
It makes little sense for candidates to campaign where they are certain to win or certain to lose. This year, polls show President Obama with a huge 13-15% lead in California and Mitt Romney with an even more impressive 20% lead in Texas. Thus, campaigning in either state is a waste of time.
Instead, they are spending almost all their time in states where polls show the election to be very close, big states like Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Virginia and even smaller states like Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Hampshire. These are known as swing states (the result could swing from one side to another) or battleground states.
Ohio seems to be at the top of the list, seen as a must win for both camps. As a result, voters there have beenbombarded with campaign advertising – some areas of the state have been seeing more than 300 TV ads a day – and each candidate has been there numerous times. They are probably not finished.
Popular political comedian Jon Stewart calls Ohio "Swing State Hell" and says he is thankful that he is in New York where they only had Hurricane Sandy to contend with. In one skit, he talks to one of his "reporters" reporting from an underground room in Ohio where he tries, unsuccessfully, to escape TV advertising. People there are wondering when authorities will turn the power off, he says.
For an introduction to this year's election and some of the key election vocabulary, click here:http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/319372/us-election-it-time-to-pay-attention
For a great map, showing current state-by-state opinion polling results, click here:http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map Put your cursor over a state to see the latest polling information.
For a listening exercise featuring Mitt Romney, click here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-together/318523/listening-to-romney
For a listening exercise featuring Barack Obama, click here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-together/318321/listening-to-obama
You can watch Jon Stewart's Swing State Hell here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-november-1-2012/swing-state-hell
For an introduction to this year's election and some of the key election vocabulary, click here:http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/319372/us-election-it-time-to-pay-attention
For a great map, showing current state-by-state opinion polling results, click here:http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/romney-vs-obama-electoral-map Put your cursor over a state to see the latest polling information.
For a listening exercise featuring Mitt Romney, click here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-together/318523/listening-to-romney
For a listening exercise featuring Barack Obama, click here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-together/318321/listening-to-obama
You can watch Jon Stewart's Swing State Hell here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-november-1-2012/swing-state-hell
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