November 5, 2024 was election day in the United States, drawing in 42.3 million American viewers across public television networks. Stakes were high with political analysts and pre-election polls predicting a nearly 50—50 outcome. The U.S. has a unique voting system, known as the electoral college. This system counts votes based on the individual state’s populations and majority vote. Electoral votes range from three per low-population states, to fifty-four in the most populated state – California. If even one more vote goes to one party over the other, all of the state’s electoral votes go to that party. The only exceptions are Nebraska and Maine, which each have individual electoral votes based on congressional districts. Maine has four individual votes and Nebraska has five.
Most states have voted the same way for years. For example, California has voted Democratic since 1988, while Wyoming has voted Republican consistently following the 1964 election. These predictable states might yield a predictable election, but the outcome comes down to the swing states – states that have such a divided voter demographic that it comes down to election night vote counts to be sure of the outcome. These states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In the 2020 election, Georgia went blue for the first time since 1992, and that was largely responsible for President Biden’s victory. On November 5, 2024, Trump won all seven of these swing states, whereas in 2016 Trump lost the popular vote, but still secured more electoral votes. In comparison to 2016, Clinton won Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, winning the popular vote, but Trump secured more electoral votes. The electoral college is widely disputed for its frameworks and many believe it is time for a change after centuries, as the electoral college was formed in 1787.
As always with U.S. presidential elections, the results were highly controversial. Although polls and prediction models projected a much closer race, the results were not close with Trump winning 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226. Trump earned 76,394,853 votes, while Harris earned 73,685,076. Many political analysts attribute Harris’ loss to her belated campaign, a result of Biden’s nomination when he dropped out of the presidential race in July 2024. This resulted in Harris having a very narrow window of time to campaign and gain support. Since both Biden and Trump had served a term as president, some voters were skeptical of Harris’ qualifications as she had not previously held the title of President of the United States.
In addition, over one third of eligible Americans—36% —did not vote. Although Trump’s approval ratings dropped after his comments during the presidential debate on September 12, he had already established a loyal following years ago that maintained their support during this election cycle. Harris on the other hand, was new to the presidency ballot.
With Trump set to take office on January 20, 2025, he is already making plans and appointing politicians to maximize his four years in office. Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. Kennedy says he is going to “clear out corruption” and make cuts in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Another major change as a result of the election is that Republicans will control the majority of the House of Senate, for the next two years until midterm elections. Republicans dominating the House will allow Trump to forward his policies with less pushback from Democrats. Most importantly, Trump could waive his criminal convictions. Since the election, a judge delayed his decision whether Trump’s conviction should be thrown out because of a Supreme Court ruling in the summer that expanded presidential immunity. In weeks to come, an official decision will be made.
Between the current U.S. President stepping down from re-election for the first time since 1968 and a former president’s criminal status potentially being waived due to re-election, it certainly is an eventful time in America.
